A former spokesperson for ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, has called for legal action against those involved in the printing of N22.7 trillion ($50 billion) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) between 2015 to 2023, under former President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Akande described the situation as an “economic calamity” and demanded that those responsible “be made to answer in court”.

Akande was the chief spokesperson to Osinbajo, who was the vice president during the period the money was printed.

He expressed concern that the issue could be swept under the rug and urged the current government to take action beyond simply complaining.

Although Akande said the CBN granting Ways and Means to the Nigerian government was not necessarily bad, he said the scale at which it was done without a corresponding uptick in productivity in the country was “shocking”. 

“We must ensure that this does not happen again…there must be consequences,” Akande said on Channels TV’s Sunrise on Thursday.

“Everyone that is involved in this calamity, which is an economic calamity,They must be made to answer in court. We dont want a situation where the case has died, it is going to repeat itself.”

He said while there fears about the “misbehaviour of the monetary institution” before the end of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, he had no idea that “things were that terrible”. 

“There was nobody in that administration that did not have an idea of how things were going…the shoddiness, the sloppiness, lack of patriotism,” Akande told Channels TV.

Akande’s statement came after Finance Minister Wale Edun linked the printed money to Nigeria’s current hyperinflation.

Edun blames the “eight years of just printing money not matched by productivity” for the economic woes. 

The Senate had previously resolved to investigate N30 trillion ($66 billion) in Ways and Means funding spent by the Buhari administration.

It said the funds were mismanaged and contributed to the country’s food and security issues.

Edun confirmed plans to audit how the funds were expended and pledged to use revenue generated from a recent N7 trillion ($15 billion) bond issuance to repay the central bank and restore fiscal balance.

The Presidency has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu advised former President Muhammadu Buhari to print Naira in 2020.

A Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, described such a claim as erroneous.

Recall that a spokesman of the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, had claimed Tinubu advised Buhari to print Naira in 2020.

Ibe’s remark followed Minister of Finance, Wale Edun’s comment on the printing of N22.7 trillion under Buhari’s administration.

Edun had said the printing of N22.7 trillion by the Central Bank of Nigeria in the name of a Ways and Means loan under Buhari’s government and ex-CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele was responsible for the current rising inflation and economic hardship in Nigeria.

Speaking during an interface with the Senate Committee on Finance, the minister said the Ways and Means loans of N22.7 trillion under the past administration were done aimlessly.

He further stated that the alleged reckless spending of the overdraft collected from the CBN under Emefiele largely accounted for the country’s food and security crises.

The minister vowed that Tinubu’s government would audit the CBN printing in the last eight years.

Reacting, Onanuga recalled that Tinubu had clarified the issue when it was first reported.

Posting on X, Onanuga wrote: “President Tinubu did not advise the Buhari administration to print Naira, the way it was erroneously reported in 2020. He provided a clarification in Thisday of 30 March, 2020, a day after the false report came out.”

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, has encouraged Nigerians to maintain hope and patience with the present administration in the country, reassuring that positive changes are on the horizon.

Oyetola emphasized that the current socio-economic challenges resulting from the fuel subsidy removal are temporary and can be overcome. He expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s ability to lead Nigeria towards progress and prosperity.

Speaking on Thursday at the official inauguration of the newly-built ultra-modern Aragbiji palace in Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, the Minister conveyed his message of hope and optimism to the Nigerian populace.

Oyetola who acknowledged the pocket of challenges confronting the nation, said “it is time for the citizens to rise to the occasion and begin to rally round the government in its resolve to reposition and transform the country.”

“In view of the concerted efforts to get over the current challenges, we need a lot of patience, I believe that our president will take us to where we desire. We need to continue to pray for him, for wisdom, good health and resources to continue to lead our country aright. I have no doubt that he will take us to promised land.”

Unveiling the state-of-the-art palace, Oyetola eulogized the sons and daughters of the ancient town for their unwavering commitment towards the actualization of the edifice.

He attributed the successful completion of the palace to the unity of purpose that exists among the indigenes of the town saying “it is a further fulfillment of our resolve as a progressive community to unleash infrastructure development on our community.

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated an 11-member committee to implement the recommendations outlined in the Oronsaye report.

The report, TRIBUNE ONLINE gathered, focuses on the reorganisation and streamlining of government bodies, agencies, and commissions.

According to Nairametrics, Tinubu was ably represented by Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, during the ceremony.

Below are the names of the members of the committee:

The committee includes Sen. George Akume (SSG), Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan; and Hadiza Bala-Usman, who serves as the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination.

Others are Dr. Dasuki Arabi, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reform; Sen. Abdullahi Abubakar-Gumel, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate); Hakeem Muri-Okunola, Principal Secretary to the President, Richard P. Pheelangwa, Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office, and Ibrahim Olarenwaju.

Ahead of the September 21 gubernatorial election in Edo, Olumide Akpata, the flag-bearer of the Labour Party (LP), has vowed to resist any attempt to rig the poll.

He gave this assurance during an interactive session with OBIdients on X space titled “Vawulence Space: One-on-one with Olumide Akpata” on Thursday.

“I will do all I can to protect the votes of the people in Edo,” he assured the audience.

The ex-NBA President promised to engage with stakeholders to ensure the safeguarding of votes during and after the poll.

He equally pledged to lead a government based on merit rather than nepotism.

He stated that his administration would prioritise a merit-based system and appoint qualified individuals to key positions for an effective and efficient government.

Recall Akpata was declared winner of the LP governorship primary election held in Benin City, Edo, garnering 316 votes in an overwhelming victory.

Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen is set to make his 100th Serie A appearance for reigning champions Napoli against Torino.

The Partenopei will entertain Torino at the Diego Armando Maradona on Friday (today).

Osimhen linked up with Napoli from Ligue 1 club, Lille in 2020.

The 25-year-old has featured in 99 league games from a possible 141.

The striker has so far scored 61 goals for Napoli in the Italian top-flight.

He helped Napoli win their first Scudetto in over three decades last season, netting 26 times in 32 league outings.

A forensic expert and witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Bamaiyi Mairiga, has admitted that forensic examination was not carried out on the signature of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, who is being tried by the federal government over alleged $6.2 million fraud.

The witness made the admission under cross examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Mr Mathew Burkaa (SAN).

Emefiele is standing trial for an alleged 20-count amended charge preferred against him by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF).

He was alleged to have engaged in criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence and obtaining money by false pretence when he served as the apex bank’s boss.

Among the allegations was that the former CBN boss forged a document entitled: Re: Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions dated January 26, 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201 and purportedly to have emanated from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (AGF).

During the court sitting on Thursday, the witness, who is the sixth to be called by the prosecution, presented report of the Forensic Document Examination (FDE) carried out on the signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) , Mr Boss Mustapha.

According to him, his forensic examination was limited to only Buhari and Mustapha.
He told the court he did not carry out the forensic examination of Emefiele’s signature because the EFCC did not submit it to him, adding that he did not know why the defendant is standing trial.

He also admitted that the request for the forensic document examination was made by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Earlier, Mairiga had informed the court that the signatures of Buhari and Mustapha were forged in two separate letters used to facilitate the withdrawal of $6.2 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Led in evidence by prosecution lawyer, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness stated that he analysed documents carrying the “disputed signature” and the “specimen signature” in order to identify individual characteristics present or absent in each of the signatures.

He said, “Conclusion from the analysis revealed that the disputed document showed evidence of forgery and copying as the same movement in formation and the skill of execution were found to be different from that of the specimen signature.”
At the end of his evidence, Mairiga went ahead to tender the said documents used in the forensic analysis which were admitted by the court as exhibits.
Sources however wondered why Emefiele’s signature was not sent for forensic examination given that he was the first to raise an alarm after meeting with a special investigator, Mr Jim Obazee, that his signature had been forged.

HIS Excellency Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, is a pendulum. He dangles across political and ideological lines. Sometimes, he seems to forget what he said in the morning. It is therefore not surprising that in the Russo-Ukrainian War, he has swung from being a peacemaker in 2022, to an advocate of damaging Russia without destroying it, on to demanding in 2024, an outright invasion and destruction of Russia.

 I am sure he is not so daft not to realise that his advocacy to militarily overrun Moscow, is an invitation to a Third World War. I don’t know if he cares; his objectives are to grab the headlines and, position himself as the leader of the so-called free world.

The contemporary Ukrainian political crises began in November 2004 following disputed presidential election re-run between the pro- Russian candidate from the Eastern Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych and Viktor Yushchenko which was won by the former. What followed were street protests in some parts of the country, and the election results were annulled. In the second re-run, Yushchenko was declared winner and was sworn-in as President. This was called the ‘Orange Revolution’.

In the 2010 elections, Yanukovych, the pro-Russian candidate, again, won. This time, his election was not annulled. However, when, three years later, his government decided to sign a trade pact with Russia, rather than the European Union, pro-West forces staged street protests and on February 21, 2014, President Yanukovych fled the capital, Kyiv. Next day, the parliament, claiming that the President had withdrawn from his constitutional duties by fleeing the capital, removed him from office.

 Eastern Ukraine protested that it was the second time it was being deprived of the presidency it had won through the ballot box. It therefore refused to recognise the new government, insisting that only a democratically elected President can preside over the country. This led to a civil war in which the Ukrainian armed forces, backed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, took on the Russian–backed rebels.

Two peace accords were signed in Minsk, capital of Belarus, to end the conflict. The Minsk Peace agreements provided for a ceasefire, constitutional reforms, including decentralisation, a federal system and special status for the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

 This was where Macron came in. He, like the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, pressed that the peace accords signed by all sides, should be implemented. But the then Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, refused to implement them. He insisted on conquering the rebels.

However, Volodymyr Zelensky, as a candidate, campaigned that he would implement the peace accords. He told the Eastern Ukrainians that he would “continue in the direction of the Minsk Talks and head towards concluding a ceasefire”. But after his 2019 election, he reneged and, rather, sent troops to overrun that part of the country.

Justifying his sabotage of the peace agreements, Zelensky in an interview with the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, published on February 9, 2023, said: “Procrastination is perfectly fine in diplomacy”. He added that he merely “jumped on the (peace) train” to deceive Russia and prepare for war.  

Former French President, Francois Hollande, confirmed that Ukraine was not interested in a peaceful resolution of the civil war. He said: “Since 2014, Ukraine has strengthened its military posture. Indeed, the Ukrainian army was completely different from that of 2014. It was better trained and equipped. It is the merit of the Minsk Agreements to have given the Ukrainian army this opportunity.”

Merkel also confirmed that rather than seek a peaceful resolution of the differences in the country, Ukraine decided to stockpile Western weapons, strengthen its armed forces and prepare for war with Russia.

Former Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennet, said he thought the Russo-Ukrainian War was avoidable. So, he decided to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, but that the United States and Europe blocked the process, insisting that there is the need “by the West to keep striking Putin” and ensure that the civil war in Ukraine escalated. He reiterated: “They blocked it, and I thought they’re wrong”.

Macron also did not agree Europe should encourage war in Ukraine rather than peace. On February 7, 2022, he met President Vladmir Putin in the Kremlin. On February 22, 2022, Russia decided to support the Ukrainian rebels military by attacking Ukraine. Despite this, Macron kept an open communication line with Russia.

Following the war, he changed his attitude towards Russia. Putin said of this: “At some point, the French President stopped the relationship with us. We didn’t do it, I didn’t. He did. If there’s interest, we’re ready. If not, we’ll cope.”

Then on Saturday, February 18, 2023, Macron moved to advocate the defeat of Russia, but not its humiliation. He told the Le Journal du Dimanche paper: “I do not think, as some people do, that we must aim for a total defeat of Russia, attacking Russia on its own soil. Those observers want to, above all else, crush Russia. That has never been the position of France and it will never be our position.”

At the end of February, 2024, Macron had completely changed his position. He said: “We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is indispensable for stability and security in Europe…We are determined to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes” to help Ukraine defeat Russia. Then he dropped the bombshell: “There is no consensus today to send (NATO) ground forces in an official, acknowledged and approved manner. But in a dynamic situation, nothing should be ruled out. We’ll do everything necessary so that Russia cannot win this war.”

So, does Macron think that Russia, a nuclear power, would watch NATO forces stroll into Moscow? It is like expecting the United States to watch foreign troops march across New York and seize Washington.

 Even if Macron is suicidal, I am sure NATO is not. It is aware that even in a conventional warfare, the prize of its troops taking on Russia, will be quite high. Other Europeans are not as daft as Ukraine that is using its youths as cannon fodder. Also, NATO as an alliance, is smart enough to realise that it is not the only game in the world. In other words, in the event of war, Russia will have allies.

Thirdly, NATO is smart enough to know that while the first and second all-European wars of the 20th Century, christened the First and Second World Wars, were fought with conventional weapons, the third one will not be fought only with such weapons.

Since humanity is not ready for the Third World War, it is logical to ask when Macron will leave the French Presidency; 2027 may be too far.

The Cosmopolitan Women’s Cub of Lagos on The Occasion of The International Women’s Day 2024 Joins All Women of Every Strata in Nigeria and The World Over to Once Again Celebrate Ourselves.

It is good to thank God for the success thus far of the millions of women’s march for women’s rights as human rights.

However, it looks like no sooner have women seemed to have broken the glass ceiling than is it replaced by a tripled glazed glass barrier.

Poverty is rife and has sadly attained generational dimension and women are amongst the poorest of the poor.

Families are without the basic necessities of life and end up going to bed hungry. 

Extremely high cost of living and inflation have reduced households to a status of indignity.

Disease and poverty have excluded large numbers of women and children from basic human needs of healthcare and housing. 

Gender inequality impacts on empowerment of women in politics and decision-making positions thereby leading to exclusion.

So, as we reflect on the IWD theme inspire inclusion, let us resolve to act in unison to break down all barriers to women’s liberation.

Happy International Women’s Day.

Dame Marie Fatayi-Williams President Cosmopolitan Women’s Club, Lagos

The Central Bank of Nigeria says foreign portfolio inflow into Nigeria surged $2.3 billion in the first two months of 2024 compared to $3.9 billion recorded in 2023.

The Acting Director of Corporate Communications at CBN, Hakama Sidi Ali, disclosed this on Thursday.

She noted that foreign investors purchased more than $1 billion in Nigerian assets in February alone.

According to her, the surge in foreign investor’s interest in Nigeria has led to total portfolio flows reaching $2.3 billion in 2024.

Meanwhile, the apex bank said diaspora remittances surged by 443 per cent to $1.3 billion in February.

“Foreign investors purchased more than US$1 billion of Nigerian assets last month, with total portfolio flows of at least US$2.3 billion recorded thus far in 2024 compared to US$ 3.9 billion seen in total for last year,” she stated.

DAILY POST recalls that foreign investment portfolios in the fourth quarter of 2023 surged by 66.77 per cent to $1,060.73 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the preceding quarter.

Meanwhile, an economic think tank group, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, said the recently introduced expatriate employment levy will hurt FDI in Nigeria.