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The Central Bank Governor, Yemi Cardoso, says Nigeria has done relatively well in its efforts to stabilize the Naira.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Cardoso said his office is pleased with how far they have gone so far with regards their efforts to ensure the Naira is stable. He also stated that the exchange rates how more or less are merged now to ensure that Nigeria operates a single exchange rate.
In his words;
‘’We feel that a number of things have happened, one of which is that more confidence has come back into the market, a lot inflows have come back because there was very little liquidity at the time and potential players within the market, both on the buy and the sell side are more confident in the future. When I talk about the buy side, bear in mind that in the past, what used to happen is people were panicking and frontloading their request. A lot of that has also calmed down and there is no inclination to do that because liquidity has come back into the market.
We are relatively pleased with how far we have gotten to up till now. In the past two-three weeks after a period of volatility, we have seen a lot of stability within the market. There is hardly been any movement in the currency. The rates have been merged. In the past we had two different rates , right now, we have more or less one rate and we believe that this is good. It allows companies to plan and again it gives an idea of where the potential road of travel is for people who are investing in our economy. I am relatively pleased with where we are . We don't believe that we have gotten to the position we want to stay at, it is continuous work in progress and we will do everything possible to ensure that we continue to manage the macroeconomic fundamentals that affect that market in such a way that it will improve.''
Watch a video of him speaking below
Media
A 65-year-old pastor, Mr Francis Ogwu, has been arrested for allegedly defiling his seven-year-old domestic help in Awka, Anambra State.
The suspect, a native of Imo State, was arrested after concerned residents raised alarm about his activities.
Ogwu, the General Overseer of Jesus House of Joy Church, Awka, is accused of raping the minor three times.
Narrating her ordeal, the seven-year-old victim told the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, that the suspect rapes her and then gives her money.
She said: “He usually gives me money, from N500 to N1000, after each experience.
“Sometimes, his wife accuses me of snatching her husband from her.
“What prompted my leaving the house was the repeated beating I received from the daughter over irrelevant issues."
The victim’s mother, Destiny Nwabueze, a native of Awka, said she handed the daughter over to the Ogwu family because of the long-standing relationship they had enjoyed. She however said she was shocked when her daughter returned to her to report the ugly incident.
She said: “I quickly invited the Oga to my house. But when he came, he denied the allegations, which made me to raise the alarm that attracted other persons."
During interrogation, the suspect denied allegations of penetration as claimed by the victim.
He said: “I just fingered the girl once.”
Asked why he defiled the girl, the suspect said, ” I was tempted because my wife usually gives excuses that she’s fasting whenever I want to have quality time with her."
Reacting, the Commissioner vowed to ensure the victim got justice.
She, however, advised women to always be vigilant and stop starving their husbands of sex. She further charged women to always protect their children at all costs.
The suspect's family begged the Commissioner’s office for pardon but the matter was reported to the police.
British Jamaican rapper Stephanie Victoria Allen, popularly known as SteffLondon, has explained why she loves Nigeria and its culture.
The singer disclosed this in an interview with radio host ‘Henrieveill’ on Tuesday.
When asked what she loved about Nigeria and its culture, she answered, saying: “Ooh, my gosh, there’s so many things, music, food. I like the people, the banter. They are so funny, very vibrant, and very colourful, like everything is in your face. It’s very loud. They remind me of Jamaicans but in a different way.”
She added: “I like your tradition; I feel like, as Jamaicans, we’ve been stripped of that. We’ve just got dancehall, good food and vibes. we are just nice people, but we ain’t really got; the cultural aspect has been taken away from us.”
DAILY POST recalls that Steff had done a Nigerian-themed video that featured dances, Ankara and the use of Pidgin and Yoruba languages in her ‘Can’t Let You Go’ video.
In December 2022, the singer also hosted an Ankara-themed party for her birthday celebration.
[DailyPost]
The ruling party in Kano state, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), on Friday, June 28, accused the immediate past governor, Abdullahi Ganduje of appointing Aminu Bayero and the other four dethroned first-class emirs for his political gains.
NNPP chairman, Hashimu Dungurawa, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman had split the Kano emirate into five and appointed five emirs in pursuance of political gains, with a target on the 2023 general election.
Dungurawa stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in his office.
According to him, it was arranged to expire with the tenure of the former governor, Dr. Ganduje, whose governorship candidate subsequently lost the 2023 election.
He alleged that the sacked emirs had enjoyed the status of a state commissioner during Ganduje’s reign, adding it was a matter of public good that they now cease to be recognised after Ganduje’s tenure.
“The five first-class emirs we met on the throne were only commissioners appointed by Ganduje to assist his candidates win elections in 2023. They were sustained until they lost the political elections in 2023 and lost their emirships as well.
“The fact remains that immediately Ganduje and his party lost the elections and stepped down as Governor of Kano State, they ought to have also vacated the thrones, because none of them was occupying the vacant seat of Emir of Kano since Muhammadu Sanusi II left.
“But maybe they didn’t accept that their tenure had expired after Ganduje and preferred successor (Gawuna) lost the election that witnessed their benefactor’s exit from the seat of power in the state,” Dungurawa said.
The NNPP chairman said the decision to relieve Bayero and the other emirs of their traditional status was rooted in public outcry over the vacant position of the emir of Kano.
He said: “Governor Abba Yusuf acted based on public outcry that there was a vacuum in the seat of Emir of Kano and he reinstated Muhammadu Sanusi II who was earlier dethroned.
“The lawmakers in the State Assembly repealed the Kano Emirate Council law 2019 and enacted a new one that called for a united Kano emirate, and the governor assented to it”.
He commended Justice A. Liman, saying, “The judge is handling the legal tussle professionally brought before him.”
Speaking further, the NNPP state chairman mocked Bayero for hoisting the emirate flag at the Nasarawa palace where he is currently staying, saying the 15th emir was performing the role of a Personal Assistant (PA) to the 16th emir of Kano (Sanusi II).
Dungurawa said: “Don’t forget that the Nasarawa mini palace is a guest house for the Emir. It is all about the Kano Emirate, it shows the SA (Bayero) to the Emir of Kano (Sanusi II) is doing his job faithfully by overseeing the graveyard of their forefathers laid to rest in the mausoleum.”
[TheNation]
The Kano State Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, Hashimu Dungurawa, has said the former governor of the state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, appointed the 15th Emir, Aminu Ado Bayero and four other first-class Emirs in pursuance of political gains ahead 2023 elections.
He stated this amid the controversies that trailed the Kano Emirate tussle.
Dungurawa made this known while fielding questions from newsmen in his office, explaining that it was a gamble that was arranged to expire with the tenure of the former governor, who eventually lost the elections.
According to the NNPP Leader, the Emirs enjoyed the status of appointed Commissioners by Ganduje, stressing that it was a matter of public good that they ceased to be recognized after the tenure of the former governor.
He said, “The five first-class Emirs we met on the throne were only commissioners appointed by Ganduje to assist him in winning elections. They were sustained to 2023 and they lost. And so their tenure came to an end.
“The fact remains that immediately Ganduje lost the elections and stepped down as Governor of Kano State, they ought to have also vacated their seats because none of them occupied the vacant seat of Emir of Kano since Muhammadu Sanusi II left.
“But maybe they didn’t accept that their tenure had expired after their benefactor lost the elections which witnessed Dr. Ganduje’s exit from the seat of power in the state.”
He posited that the decision to relieve them of their traditional status was rooted in public outcry over the vacant position of the Emir of Kano.
While reacting to the hoisting of flags at the Nasarawa palace, Dungurawa said, “Don’t forget Nasarawa mini palace is a guest house for the Emir. It is all about the Kano Emirate, it shows the SA Emir of Kano is doing his job faithfully by overseeing the graveyard of their forefathers laid to rest in the mausoleum.”
The Nigerian Federal Government says the disbursement of N150 billion in loans to micro, small and medium enterprises and manufacturers would commence by the end of July 2024.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this in a statement through her official X handle on Thursday.
Uzoka-Anite said that 60 percent of the proposed one million beneficiaries of the Presidential Conditional Grant had received a financial grant of N50,000 without repayment obligations in the 774 local government areas of the country.
She said, “To all applicants of the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme who are yet to be paid, thank you for your continued patience. The disbursement process is still ongoing, and we have allocated about 60 percent of the 1 million grants.
“You can track the number of beneficiaries per LGA paid so far on grant.fedgrantandloan.gov.ng/learn-more/dis.
“We are also at the final stages of vetting for the MSME and Manufacturing loans. Applications remain open, and disbursement will begin by July ending.”
Recall that in December 2023, the Federal Government unveiled the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme as part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme aimed at supporting businesses to navigate the economic crunch caused by government policies.
Accordingly, the fund dedicates N75 billion to MSMEs and another N75 billion to the manufacturing sector to help businesses in Nigeria navigate the harsh economic realities.
DAILY POST reports that at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting on Thursday, President Tinubu approved an N50,000 uplift grant for 3.6 million families in Nigeria.
Sharon Ooja, the Nigerian actress, has revealed how she met Ugo Nwoke, her husband.
Ooja, who got married to her partner in an Abuja traditional ceremony on Thursday, shared how they met during a chat with Bella Naija.
She recounted how her sister introduced them shortly after she had gone through a severe heartbreak.
Ooja stated that she was initially hesitant but Ugo persistently tried to reach out to her.
She added that they got engaged within two and a half months and legally married two months later.
“My love story is one I will say is short of a miracle,” she said.
“I will say I had just recovered from what I consider the worst heartbreak of my life.
“I was filming, and my sister said to me, ‘Oh, a friend of mine wants to speak to you’.
“I was like, ‘Please, I’m not really in the mood. I do not want to talk to anybody’.”
“Anyways, she gave this person my number. We did not speak much. Months passed, and he kept on trying to reach me.
“We dated for two and a half months, and I was engaged in the third month. We married two months after that.”
Ooja’s traditional marriage hosted Nollywood stars including Jemima Osunde, Funke Akindele, Beverly Osu, Nancy Isime, and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, among others.
Bisola Aiyeola served as the maid of honour.
Ooja rose to fame with her role as Shalewa in the web series ‘Skinny Girl in Transit’.
She has also starred in notable Nollywood films including ‘Oloture’, ‘Bad Comments’, ‘Glamour Girls’, and ‘Dead Serious’.
Veteran Nollywood actor, John Okafor, better known as Mr Ibu, has been laid to rest in his hometown of Amuri, in the Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Naija News recalls that Mr Ibu died on 2nd March 2024 at the age of 62 after a prolonged battle with illness.
The Nigeria Actors Guild (AGN), alongside the family of the late comic actor, has been involved in a series of events to pay tribute and last respect to him.
Videos that emerged online show moments from the ongoing funeral ceremony in Enugu as friends and family members bid farewell to the late thespian.
Watch the videos below.
Video
Media
Ten officers of the Nigerian Army, all on the ranks of a general, have retired from active service after successfully serving out their required number of years.
The Generals, from the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC), comprise six Major-Generals and four Brigadier-Generals.
They include: Major-General Nsor Okpa Ojiji, Major-General MH Magaji, Major-General GB Audu, Major-General M Danmadami, Major-General JG Mohammed and Major-General UI Mohammed.
Others are Brigadier-General A. Israel, Brigadier-General BA Mohammed, Brigadier-General D. Abdulsalam and Brigadier-General SP Akpan.
Speaking on behalf of the others who were also pulled out of service, Ojiji expressed delight at being able to complete the years of active service successfully and commended the Army leadership for the roles played.
He, however, appealed that more be done for those still in service to make them perform optimally in the service of the nation.
“We recall that the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC) has a lot of challenges, which range from poor accommodation to inadequate professional and medical facilities, amongst a myriad of others.
“Today, however, I am happy to note that there are many very functional accommodation blocks; even the ambience of these barracks is very welcoming. Many resources and efforts have changed the situation. This is heartwarming.
“Kudos to commander NAAC, his team of officers, soldiers, and their families, who are determined together that things must improve in the corps,” he said.
Ojiji highlighted the need to address poor equipment grading, especially in formations and units and appealed to the Minister of Defence to look into it.
He added, “We hope that the minister of defence, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, also make this his cardinal objective during his tenure. I plead with the Hon. Minister through this medium to deem it fit to do so.“
On his part, the commandant of the Armoured Corps, Major General Mohammed Ahmed, congratulated the retired officers, wished them well in their future endeavours and urged them to make themselves readily available for consultations and helpful advice on improving the Armoured Corps.
“We are happy we did what we should do. We carry out a lot of services to the community, ranging from free medical services to the provision of pipe-borne water, among others, and if they tell us about their problems, we promptly attend to those problems.
“There is no army in the world that has enough, and the Nigerian Army has developed its capacity to the level that you can see in most of our equipment, which is highly maintained,” Ahmed said.
BBNaija Season 4 winner, Mercy Eke has stated that she is ready to get married.
The entrepreneur shared her wish via Snapchat while attending the wedding of actress Sharon Ooja.
A follower wrote to Mercy, "marry me."
And she replied, "I'm so ready... I don't mind the gender like this. Love is sweet. I'm so so ready."
More...
Nigerian rapper and singer, Folarin Falana, also known as Falz, has disclosed that he has not had a relationship since he left the university.
According to the 33-year-old, he is still single because he does not want to marry the wrong person.
The ‘Marry Me’ crooner spoke during a recent interview with Naija 102.7 FM, Lagos.
Falz stated that his parents, especially his father, are pressuring him to get married.
He asserted that the last time he was in a serious relationship was during his undergraduate days.
The singer explained that his status as a celebrity makes finding the right woman for marriage difficult.
According to him, “I’m not yet married. I’m single to stupor. My dad expresses concern over my marital status daily. If I greet my dad good morning, he would say the morning will be good if you were married.
“Both my mum and dad are deeply concerned about my status, although my dad pressures me the most. My mum is a bit calm now. It seems like she has passed the baton to my dad. No one can pressure me into getting married, not even my dad [laughs].
“Currently, I’m not dating anyone. I’m a straight man. I like women. But for a while now, I haven’t experienced a serious relationship. I was still in the university the last time I had a serious relationship.
“My lifestyle as a celebrity is difficult to find someone to commit to. Also, there are a lot of happenings in the industry that make having a booming career and a healthy relationship seem difficult. So because of that, I’m trying to be careful. There’s no issue. I’m just trying to be careful.”
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama, disclosed yesterday that Nigeria’s cryptocurrency market is estimated to be “worth over $400 million”.
Agama spoke at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (ACMAN) in Abuja, themed “Crypto Assets and the Nigerian Economy: Implications for Financial Markets Regulation”.
Agama said a “significant portion of the population is involved in cryptocurrency trading and transactions”, predicting that the market volume “will reach $52.5 million by 2028”, representing “a 12.66 percent increase from 2024 to 2028”.
He noted that despite economic challenges, Nigeria has “emerged as one of the leading countries globally in terms of crypto adoption and volume of transactions”.
He stated further: “Reports indicate that Nigeria’s crypto transaction volume reached $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, representing a nine percent year-over-year growth.
“The country’s crypto market is estimated to be worth over $400 million, with a significant portion of the population involved in cryptocurrency trading and transactions.”
However, Agama acknowledged that challenges persist, including concerns over illicit activities, regulatory uncertainty, security concerns, and financial literacy.
“A balanced regulatory approach is essential to harness the benefits of crypto assets while mitigating risks,” he emphasized.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Mairiga Katuka, said the introduction of crypto presents an advantage for the markets and urged all to chart a course forward for Nigeria with its vibrant financial markets.
…Aircraft shortage turns passengers to ticket scavengers
…Planes grounded on high costs
In the last few months, only few airplanes have been deployed to serve domestic route passengers as Nigerian airlines struggle with fleet reduction owing to high cost of maintenance.
Some airlines have sent their aircraft on maintenance, but they are unable to return them due to the skyrocketing maintenance costs fueled by the foreign exchange crunch.
Others have been forced to ground their aircraft by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for their inability to send them for maintenance, thus reducing airplanes available for passengers.
In addition to these, the grounding of Dana Air, a relatively low-cost carrier which had six aircraft in its fleet, has also impacted the fleet operating the domestic routes.
Routes previously operated by Dana Air have seen increases in ticket costs.
The Lagos -Abuja route has seen more passenger glut than others as airlines, which charged between N60,000 to N80,000 three months ago, now charge as high as N200,000 or more for a one-way economy ticket on the route. With no other choice, passengers have had to cough out the sum.
On Tuesday, passengers who tried to book flights from Lagos to Abuja for Wednesday could not get flights, as all airlines were fully booked.
On Thursday morning, Valuejet operated only two flights from Lagos to Abuja with one flight at 6:45am and another at 7:30am.
Similarly, passengers could not get flights from Anambra to Abuja on Thursday.
On Thursday, airlines sold a one-way economy ticket on Asaba to Abuja route for as high as N175,000, an increase from about N70,000 three months ago.
Data obtained by BusinessDay from NCAA on Thursday showed that 13 domestic airlines operating in Nigeria, including Aero, Air Peace, Arik, Azman, Dana, Green Africa, Ibom Air, Max Air, NG Eagle, Overland, Reno Air, United Nigeria Airline and ValueJet put together operate a total of 91 aircraft. This data includes aircraft that have gone on maintenance.
Sources close to the NCAA told BusinessDay that apart from Dana Air that has been grounded, more than half of the 91 airplanes have gone on maintenance, putting a strain on the few operating aircraft.
BusinessDay’s checks show that five years ago, when just 10 domestic airlines operated on Nigerian routes, they had over 120 fleet.
Travel experts say the reduction in aircraft has made travel exclusively for the rich and created monopolies on certain routes.
“If you walk up to any counter at the domestic airport terminals and you don’t have a minimum of N200,000, you may not get a seat.
“Surprisingly, some of the airlines now tell you that they are selling premium economy to you, whereas there is nothing like premium economy. They sell you the business class and when you get onboard the aircraft, you’ll see that it is an economy class that has been sold to you,” Olumide Ohunayo, an industry analyst and director of research at Zenith Travels, told BusinessDay.
Ohunayo said the situation has been a problem that is ongoing and has continued to happen on routes where Dana operated.
“The withdrawal of Dana’s license and the grounding of aircraft that can’t go on maintenance due to lack of foreign exchange have led to reduction in fleet size.
“The grounding of Dana is a major problem. We need to find a way around this capacity problem and seats available. The passengers have not increased, but the supply of aircraft has dwindled. The passengers are really suffering during this period,” he said.
Ndukwe Ginika Ogechi, chief executive officer, Geena Travels And Tours Ltd, told BusinessDay that in the last few weeks, ticket prices have continued to increase while seat capacity dwindles because there are no aircraft to service underserved routes.
“My clients have been complaining because it has been difficult to get flights going to destinations such as Asaba, Enugu, Owerri and some northern destinations, as the airlines which previously operated two or more flights to these destinations may either operate one daily flight or not have any flight at all,” Ogechi said.
An airline operator who would not want to be quoted told BusinessDay that the reason flights are fully booked in recent times is as a result of capacity issues.
A source at Air Peace said the airline understands the situation and is trying to provide more flights to some domestic connections once some of the airline’s aircraft return from maintenance checks
“The Abuja route is the most flown route in Nigeria, as there is also the plethora of business opportunities attached to the destination, ranging from major business summits this month and political events,” the source added.
Airlines sell tickets in naira but pay for spares, aircraft maintenance and insurance premiums in dollars. They are facing higher operating costs as the naira has depreciated significantly against the greenback on the official and parallel markets.
When the naira-dollar exchange rate was N400/$, airlines paid between N200 million and N400 million to carry out C-check. But with the current exchange rate of about N1507/$, airlines have to pay between N800 million and N1.5 billion to carry out C-check on a single aircraft.
Airlines were already paying high insurance premiums due to the country’s perception as a high-risk operating environment and the alleged high insurance premium demanded by local insurance firms in Nigeria.
BusinessDay’s findings show that while Nigerian airlines pay eight percent to 10 percent of the value of a piece of aircraft to insure one, carriers that operate in Ghana, South Africa and other African countries pay two to three percent.
Also, airlines operating in Europe and the United States pay 0.5 percent to 1 percent to insure the same aircraft.
Airlines operating in Nigeria pay an average of $1 million annually to insure a B737-300 aircraft while those in Ghana or the US pay between $200,000 and $300,000 to insure the same aircraft type. With the increase in exchange rate, airlines pay higher for the cost of insurance.
At the backdrop of sustained surge in inflation, it has been established that cost of a Healthy Diet, CoHD, rose by 32 percent to N1,041 per adult per day in May 2024 from N786 in December 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this yesterday in its CoHD report for May 2024, noting that the rise was driven by increase in the prices of starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods.
Analysis of the NBS CoHD report for the period (December 2023 to May 2024) showed that the cost of healthy diet increased by 9.2 percent month-on-month, MoM, to N858 in January 2024 from N786 in December 2023. CoHD increased by 9.3 percent to N938 in February and up by 4.7 percent to N982 in March.
The upward trend continued in April as CoHD grew by 5.4 percent to N1,035 in April and up by 0.6 percent to N1,041 in May.
The report stated: “The national average cost of a healthy diet was N1,041 per adult per day in May 2024. The CoHD has been steadily rising over the past six (6) months, since December 2023.
“In May 2024, the CoHD was 32 percent higher than it was in December 2023 (N786). It was also 1.0 percent higher than the cost in April 2024 (N1,035).
“The main drivers of this increase in CoHD are starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods. Vegetables and fruits, on the other hand, saw the smallest increase in price month-on-month.”
On cost share by food group, NBS said: “Animal source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in May, accounting for 36 percent of the total CoHD to provide 13 percent of the total calories.
“Fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie. They accounted for 11 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of total CoHD, while providing only 7.0 percent and 5.0 percent of total calories in the healthy diet basket.
“Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at 7.0 percent of the total cost.”
The bureau noted that at the state level, Ebonyi State had the highest average CoHD with N1,225 per adult per day, while Kano State accounted for the lowest cost with N898.
At the zonal level, the South East had the highest CoHD with N1,189 per day, while the North West had the lowest average CoHD with N919 per day.