Deputy governor of Financial System Stability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Philip Ikeazor, has said that the rise in non-performing loans in the Nigerian banking industry is alarming.

Personal statements of the Monetary Policy Committee Members, released on CBN’s website on Tuesday, show that NPL in the industry has risen by 0.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent, a situation Ikeazor said gives backing to the recapitalization move by the apex bank.

In his statement at the last MPC meeting held in March, Ikeazor raised the concern by stating that the banking sector has remained resilient, with most financial soundness indicators within their regulatory thresholds.

“Despite this, the moderate increase in NPLs and the slight decline in CAR reinforces the importance of recapitalizing the banking system.

“The imbalance between the exposure of the oil and manufacturing sectors and their poor contribution to growth is problematic, even as non-performing loans (NPLs) continue to rise.

“Considering their vulnerability to rate hikes, consecutive aggressive tightening will further depress the economy.

“The pressure point is already manifesting as indicated in the projected contraction of PMI in the industrial sector by 7.1 index points occasioned by rising input cost and low-capacity utilization,” he pointed out.

Another member of the Monetary Policy Committee(MPC), former director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Abubakar Yuguda, noted the rise in NPL. However, he said it is still within the prudential threshold of five per cent.

To him, “the banking sector has remained safe and sound with the key indicators within the prudential benchmarks.

“The CAR was above the 10 per cent mark in February. The non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio at 4.5 per cent was up marginally by 0.3 percentage points compared to January 2024 but remained below the prudential benchmark of 5.0 per cent.

“The Industry Liquidity Ratio (LR) was 42.7 per cent, exceeding the minimum regulatory requirement of 30.0 per cent and was higher than the 42.1 per cent recorded in the previous month.”

Recall that on April 2, the apex bank raised the minimum capital requirement for all banks in Nigeria.

The naira recorded its first gain against the US dollar at the official foreign exchange Market this week.

FMDQ data showed an appreciation of N1,390.96 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,419.11 on Monday.

This represents a N28.15 or 1.98 per cent gain against the dollar at the forex market compared to N1,419.11 it traded the previous day.

The naira has continued to depreciate against the dollar in the official market for days until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, at the parallel market, the naira depreciated to N1,360 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,280 the previous day.

The Nigerian passport has been ranked as the 10th worst travel document worldwide, according to VisaGuide’s World Passport Index.

The ranking, which uses the Destination Significance Score (DSS) for assessing and ranking the passports of countries and territories, places Nigeria at number 191 out of 199 countries.

As of April, the Nigerian passport was ranked above only North Korea, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia.

The report added that the factors that contributed to this decline include visa-free access, diplomatic relations, and security concerns.

Other factors are visa-free travel, electronic travel authorisation, visa on arrival, electronic visa (e-visa), embassy or other government-approved visas, passport-free travel, and banned entry.

According to the ranking, the Singaporean passport is the strongest passport in the world, with a score of 91.06 as of April 2024. It is followed by the Italian, Spanish, French, and German passports respectively, to complete the top-five list of strongest passports for 2024.

The complete list of all the passports ranked according to their score HERE

The Federal Government has approved a substantial increase in salary ranging from 25% to 35% for civil servants across various consolidated salary structures.

This augmentation applies to the six remaining consolidated salary structures, namely the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS), Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS), Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS), Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS), and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS).

Previously, salary increases were implemented for sectors such as tertiary education and health, encompassing structures like the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS), Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS), Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS), Consolidated Tertiary Educational Institutions Salary Structure (CONTEDISS), Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and Consolidated Health Sector Salary Structure (CONHESS).

In a statement signed by the Head of Press, National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Emmanuel Njoku, the increases take effect on January 1, 2024.

Furthermore, the Federal Government has also approved pension increases ranging from 20% to 28% for pensioners enrolled in the Defined Benefits Scheme within the aforementioned consolidated salary structures, with the same effective date.

A police inspector, whose identity remains undisclosed, has reportedly severed his wife’s hand following a dispute over N20,000 in Dong area of Jos North local government area of Plateau State.

The inspector had left the money at home, and upon returning to retrieve it, a heated argument broke out between him and his wife. The altercation escalated, which resulted in the inspector turning violent, and subsequently cutting his wife’s hand.

Alabi said, “We are aware of the incident, the man is an Inspector. Right now, he is at the State CID and the investigation is ongoing.

“He has a minor misunderstanding with his wife over some money. They had an argument over some N20,000 he kept in the house and he said he was looking for the money to do something and an argument ensued. The case is under investigation.”

The victim, who is pregnant, was promptly rushed to a hospital for medical attention. A concerned neighbour, who expressed shock over the incident, said that the disagreement escalated when the wife declined to give the man N3,000 from the N20,000.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denounced what he said is President Bola Tinubu’s tendency to increase tariff, which he said does not correspond with what Nigerians are getting.

Atiku stated this on Tuesday to mark Workers’ Day celebration on May 1.

A statement from the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) noted that the president is subsidising corruption and living in affluence while impoverishing the masses.

Atiku said as Nigerian workers join their counterparts across the world to celebrate International Workers Day, “it is a sobering truth that the plight of the Nigerian worker remains dire.”

He lamented that despite prolonged pledges and flowery words by the government, the much talked-about prospects of wage increment for the Nigerian worker remains a mirage.

The former veepee pointed out that every dawn unveils renewed hardships and harsh living conditions in the current administration.

According to Atiku, “The continued increase in tariffs in different service offerings without addressing the corruption and inefficiencies in the system only amounts to long-suffering Nigerians subsidising the corruption and inefficiencies in the system.”

He noted that since the days of legendary, Pa. Michael Imoudu, to later day fire brands such as Pascal Bafyau and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the Nigerian worker has been at the forefront of the fight against tyranny and bad governance.

He emphasised that no administration in Nigerian “history has trampled workers’ rights like this one. Daily, workers face uncertainty over skyrocketing prices of essential goods.

“The Nigerian worker has had it so rough under this current administration and it is unfortunate that while the living conditions of the Nigerian worker remains at a miserably low ebb, the Nigerian government continues to regale its international audiences with tales of how the masses are being weaned of their wasteful dependence on government.

“It is thus beginning to appear, that as far as the current federal government is concerned, the management of our country’s micro-economic outlook is an unwieldy laboratory experiment, to which the Nigerian worker is laid prostrate.

“While I cannot but share my sympathy with the Nigerian worker for the way the current government has ridiculed her for far too long, I must equally express my felicitations with the Nigerian worker on this year’s Workers Day.

“It is my hope that the theme of this year’s Labour Day: Ensuring Safety and Health at Work In a Changing Climate, will inspire the Nigerian government to put the concerns of the Nigerian Worker on the front burner,” Atiku stated.

Former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Prof. Kingsley Moghalu has urged the federal government to privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to raise about $20 to $30 billion to jumpstart the economy.

Moghalu, in a series of tweets on his X handle, also asked the Yemi Cardoso-led management of the apex bank to focus on price stability rather than seeking to do what he described as falsely strengthening of the naira against the dollar.
Moghalu said the Naira tanking back down to the N1,400 to $1 demonstrated what some people had been saying.

“Seeking a ‘falsely strong’ currency when the fundamentals are out of whack is shadow chasing. The focus should be on the stability of the exchange rate, not a populist exchange rate and premature declarations of ‘best performing currency’.

“Privatise @nnpclimited and raise at $20-$30 billion from an IPO. Or go for a “whale” of a $20-30 billion bailout from @IMFNews (nothing less), with forensic oversight of the money and how it is spent,” he said.

Moghalu stated that the federal government needs the new money to reposition the economy, adding “all these trickle-down” borrowing of $1 billion, $2 billion won’t hack it”.

Reacting to the steady fall of the naira to about N1,400/$ after it had hit a seven-month high of N1,000/$ barely two weeks ago, Moghalu, in a series of tweets on X on Monday, stated that “the focus should be on the stability of the exchange rate, not a populist exchange rate”.

“Reports that there are now multiple exchange rates to BDCs, Customs, and NAFEX are also worrying,” he added.

The political economist said the reports that there are now multiple exchange rates to BDCs, Customs, and NAFEX are worrying to the extent that they create more problems for the economy. “It’s not yet uhuru. Let us stabilise the Naira at whatever is its true market value and then pivot to the real issues: taking Nigeria to 20-25K megawatts of 24 hour electricity in 2-3 years starting with Lagos, Kano, Onitsha and Nnewi (Aba seems promising with Geometric power) so we can create a truly productive economy. Dealing decisively with oil theft and ramping up oil production to bring in dollars soonest. 

“Privatise @nnpclimited and raise at $20-$30 billion from an IPO. Or go for a “whale” of a $20-30 billion bailout from @IMFNews (nothing less), with forensic oversight of the money and how it is spent. All these “trickle down” borrowing of $1 billion, $2 billion there won’t hack it.
“We need to get serious. Managing an economy is not politics or a clap-and dance performance theatre. It’s serious business. I recently briefed global institutional investors with a combined $15 trillion in assets under management 2024 SpringMeeting2024 Washington DC at their request.
“Confidence in Nigeria’s economic reforms, in terms of serious portfolio inflows, remains tentative. These reversals won’t help,” he said in a series of tweets on X.com yesterday.

Nine people, including a pregnant woman on Tuesday, suffered varying degrees of burn injuries, occasioned by a gas explosion in the Ajegunle-Apapa area of Lagos State.

The victims are currently receiving treatment at the Ajeromi General Hospital and Gbagada Burnt & Trauma Centre.

At least four commercial tricycles, six lock-up shops, and a section of a residential bungalow were affected.

It was gathered that the explosion caused by gas leakage ignited a high-tension cable, leading to a fire outbreak.

However, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, with support from the Federal Fire Service, was able to bring the fire under control, preventing further devastation.

Confirming the incident, the Director of the agency, Margaret Adeseye, said the incident occurred in an area known for its gas cylinder trading activities, amplifying the impact.

Adeseye said: “However, firefighters managed to salvage nearby structures, including a critical fuel service station, mitigating potential additional losses.

“Tragically, nine individuals, including a pregnant woman and several children and adults, suffered varying degrees of burn injuries. They received immediate medical attention from the Lagos State Ambulance Service and are currently undergoing further treatment at the Ajeromi General Hospital and Gbagada Burnt & Trauma Centre.

“The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service reaffirms its dedication to safeguarding lives and property through proactive emergency response, public education, and community engagement initiatives.”

Nigeria’s minister of solid minerals development, Dr. Oladele Alake on Monday disclosed that the country had a solid mineral wealth worth in excess of $750bn, according to a survey report by a German firm, GeoScan.

He, however, hinted that Nigeria was likely to have much more than the figure when the reports of other surveys from other reputable global firms are received.

The minister made this comment at a two-day Stakeholders’ Roundtable on Solid Minerals Development jointly organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and Bruit Costaud in Abuja Monday Nigeria.

Alake said the mining sector had the potential to contribute a large chunk of the wealth necessary to turn Nigeria into a trillion-dollar economy which is a major goal of the Tinubu administration.

He stated that the availability of data is important to attract investors to Nigeria as it would help them make informed investment decisions, adding that bringing them to site their processing plants in Nigerian will have the multiplier effect of job and wealth creation for the citizens on the one hand and the growth of the country’s economy.

“We are working with the World Bank, Excalibur and GeoScan, a German company, to get the necessary data on the sector. That is why the federal government signed a memorandum of understanding with Geoscan and they did a preliminary survey of our minerals on the output and potential. They gave us a figure of $750 billion worth of minerals embedded under the ground of Nigeria.” 

“That is a conservative estimate, by the time we conduct a serious, accurate data exploration, we will discover that we have trillions of solid minerals embedded under. So, the president’s projection of a one-dollar economy is not a fluke. By the time we are done with all of these efforts, input and policies we are putting in place, trillions of naira will be a child’s play and we will be nudging trillions of dollars.” 

Alake further stated that the president has given the ministry the mandate to re-organise the sector from exploration to production and processing with the ultimate objective of making it a key contributor to the national economy.

“Nigeria is prime to become the new global mining destination and together we will make this vision a reality,” he said, adding that as the foremost government think-tank, the stakeholders’ roundtable will enrich NIPSS’ analysis of the sector and the recommendations from the summit will no doubt point to the steps to be taken to enable the sector deliver on its mandate.

He reiterated his resolute stance on local value addition in products mined in the country and highlighted that through his advocacy and leadership of African ministers of solid minerals, all the other African countries had adopted the same policy of value addition.

The minister added that part of his seven-point agenda of reform is the formation of a mining police, which has been launched and already arresting illegal operators across Nigeria, and the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.

“When I first said this, a lot of people were taken aback and sceptical because what rang in their mind was NNPC, that is, we are going to establish something similar like NNPC, which is a quasi-government venture. But no, the proposed corporation is vastly different in nomenclature, structure and operation,” he said, assuring that it will be private sector-led.

“We are proposing 50 per cent of the equity entirely to the private sector, 25 per cent to Nigerians in general and 25 per cent to the government,” he explained.

On his part, the governor of Nasarawa State, Abullali Sule, said that lithium is the new gold and that Nigeria has it in great abundance.

He further stated that his administration had set up the biggest lithium processing factory in Nigeria and that it will soon be processing 4,000 metric tonnes a day and transporting over a million tonnes of lithium a year.

NIPSS director-general of NIPSS, Ayo Omotaya, in his speech said the summit was organised to bring together the various stakeholders in order to propose solutions to challenges confronting the mining industry.

In an earlier interaction with journalists, he gave assurance that the two-day event will not be just another academic exercise but that decisions reached will be useful to the cause of turning the mining sector into Nigeria’s major earner in the near future.

In a shocking revelation, a woman in her 50s, identified only as Madam Alimot, has been apprehended for her involvement in a fraudulent scheme that staged fake miracles in a church located in one of the South-West states.

The Oluyole Security Surveillance Team took her into custody after reports emerged of her exploiting a teenage boy and threatening him when he threatened to expose their activities.

The operation, detailed by Madam Alimot, involved elaborate performances during church services where she and other participants pretended to suffer from various disabilities and spiritual afflictions.

These staged afflictions would miraculously ‘disappear’ after being prayed over by the pastor, involving rituals with water and anointing oil.

The performances were convincing enough to make the congregation believe in these purported miracles, prompting them to donate large sums of money in hopes of receiving similar blessings.

During the church services, which witnesses described as resembling movie scenes, participants would take on roles such as lunatics, imbeciles, or individuals afflicted by spiritual attacks.

After the ‘healing’ rituals, these participants would act out scenes of miraculous recovery, further convincing the congregation of the pastor’s divine powers.

The revelation came to light after Madam Alimot enlisted the help of the nephew of one of her tenants, a teenager, to participate in one such performance where he was made to pretend to be deaf and then miraculously regain his hearing.

After the service, while the pastor received substantial cash donations, the teenager was only given ₦500 and threatened by Alimot to keep quiet about the deceit.

The incident has sparked outrage among the community, particularly after the teenager disclosed the syndicate’s operations to others, leading to Alimot’s arrest.

The services conducted by the church have now been scrutinised, uncovering a series of deceitful practices aimed at exploiting the faith and finances of the congregation.

Madam Alimot reportedly organised these fraudulent trips from her residence in Iyana Agbala at the Alakia side of Ibadan, where the group would gather before heading to the church to perform their deceitful acts.

Nigerian Tribune, in an interview with Madam Alimot, an Ibadan indigene, said, “I live at Olomi Area of the city. I was a beer and wine seller before and well known in my area. However, I had an accident, and my business crashed. I had another accident at Olomi when a car hit me. So, I couldn’t continue with my business since two years ago.

“It was then that someone told me about a church’s style of gaining membership and raising much money through bringing in people who would pretend as needing healing from sicknesses and diseases.

“Sometimes, a member of the syndicate would act as an imbecile. Other times, I would act like someone who is a witch and had rendered her husband impotent. After my ‘confession,’ the pastor would use anointing oil and water to restore the manhood of the syndicate member who would pretend to be my husband.

“I could also act as if I spiritually attacked the child of my rival in my marriage. The person who introduced the business to me lived at OkeAdu. She was known as Iya Deola but died recently. I have worked with the syndicate about four times and I made up my mind not to go to the church for such deceit again. I kept off the business for almost two years before I ventured into it again. Lately, my mind just went to her, and I borrowed the phone of the boy, whose involvement exposed me, to call her.

“What I got to understand is that the pastor would call her whenever he needed people to come to church gathering and act as if a miracle was occurring. The worshippers were many.

“One of the acts I performed was that I pretended as if I afflicted my rival’s son with impotence because I didn’t give birth to a male child and was being oppressed by his mother. The pastor would anoint him with oil and sprinkle water on him. Immediately, he would hold his manhood and start rejoicing, telling the congregation that he felt life in it again.

“I used to be paid ₦7,000 each time I went to the town and return to Ibadan, and the payment would include transport fare. So, what I was usually left with was between ₦1,500 and ₦2,000. That was what I would use to eat.

“I have two children and one of them, a male, just got someone pregnant. He’s my second child. My daughter is married and blessed and blessed with two children but is currently sick.”

When asked why she was not afraid of offending the Divine Being, as a Muslim, she replied: “I had fear in me, but it was one Iya Samuel who used to call me for the ‘business.’ She didn’t go to the church but was the one to source for the people to be used in the church by the pastor. I didn’t know how much she was being paid.”

The teenager who exposed the woman narrated his experience thus, “My father is in Lagos while my mother is in Ibadan. They are divorced. I live with my uncle. I used to greet Madam Alimotu because she’s belongs to the family which owns my uncle’s rented house and is in charge of the house. She also lives there.

“What led to this occurrence was that she called me to lend her my phone so that she could make a call to somebody. She spoke with her contact for a long time that I had to have a discussion with her nephew, Abeeb, who asked me the kind of menial job I would like to do to have some money. I told him that I could work with bricklayers as a labourer.

“The following day, the woman Madam Alimotu called the day before gave me a call and I took the phone to her. I helped her to put the phone on speaker because she didn’t know how to operate it. I heard the woman asking Madam Alimotu if she had a male that would disguise as a madman. I pulled back when I heard that, thinking: ‘what does this woman mean?’

“As I pulled back, Madam Alimotu urged me not to do so, assuring me that she would never wish me evil. She told me to follow her out so that I would not be the only one at home. She told me to take extra clothes with me and also took three pieces for herself.

“When we got to Iwo Road, I asked her where we were going, but she just replied that I should follow her. We boarded another vehicle to Iyana Agbala. We entered a street and I felt like running because the place was deserted. I told her that I wanted to go back home but she shouted at me that she had just ₦1,000 with her and we had used it for transportation.

“She asked me to act as a madman, but I told her that I couldn’t do it. She then said that I should pretend to be a deaf and I had to agree because there was no money to transport myself back home. Eventually, she went with a woman to another place for the job, and I went with another man to the town where the pastor is.

“I met the man in the house at Iyana Agbala and noticed that he had been working with the syndicate before. She gave us N3,500 for transport fare, asking us to lap each other, and the man was the one who held the money. The woman at Iyana Agbala waited until she saw that the vehicle we boarded to the town we were going moved. The man I went with told me that I would be paid ₦7,000 for the job I was going to do.

“On getting to the town, we entered the church we were told to go to. We were made to go inside a room attached to the church and given directives on how we would play individual roles. The pastor walked past me but looked intently at me before moving forward. A woman whom I met in the church was asked to act as my mother and she sat beside me.

“At about 4pm, the church service started. The pastor and said there was a boy among the congregation who is deaf, asking him to come to the altar. My fake mother stood up and said that what the pastor said was true, as she brought her deaf child to the church. The pastor asked her to bring me forward and started praying. He poured oil on my head and immediately, I started acting as if I just woke up from a dream as I was taught to do. I asked: ‘Where am I?’

“That I could talk sent the congregation into frenzy. I was given microphone to talk. The pastor then said that those who believe that is nothing God cannot do should come forward to drop ₦10,000 each at the altar. People started rushing forward to drop cash of varied amount. Some others did money transfer from their bank’s app.

“When we got back to Ibadan the following day, we dropped at Iyana Agbala. Madam Alimotu was called and she asked me to go home. I was given ₦500 for transport fare. When I got to Iwo Road, I went to my biological mother and mocked her belief in a religion, telling her that she was always buying water that had been prayed into. She is a Muslim but used to go to churches for prayers and purchase of spiritual water.

“I left for my uncle’s house but he was angry I went somewhere without informing him. He told me to pack my things and leave his house. Then, I explained things to him. I also told him that I informed a co-tenant but didn’t know we would go that far. He said he suspected Madam Alimotu and had advised her to desist from it.

“Aside the transport fare we were given when going to the church, I was not given any money when we returned to Ibadan. I was on WhatsApp when I had an audio call from the syndicate leader, asking if I was given ₦3,000 by Madam Alimotu. I told her I was not given anything. The syndicate leader asked me to take my phone to her and I heard when she castigated her, saying that she was the one who called her for the job and was not doing the right thing. Madam Alimot snatched the phone from me, saying that I had exposed her secret.

“I went to my uncle and told him what just transpired. I said that I was afraid of being attacked because Madam Alimotu told the syndicate leader that I had exposed them. He asked me to go to my mother but I didn’t want to go.

“He went to Madam Alimotu. The syndicate leader sent me a WhatsApp message saying ‘well done’ to me. She said that Madam Alimot came to her and told her that I have exposed everything they were doing to our neighbours. I also heard her telling that neighbour who knew that she took me out that she would drag issues with me. I went to her the following morning and she said I took her footwear. I had to lodge a complaint with OSST when she continued to threaten me.”

The OSST Commandant, Olusegun Idowu, confirmed that the 17-year-old boy who is a JSS 3 student, reported the case of threat to life.

He said that during interrogation, it was discovered that those involved were not only within Oyo State but outside, adding that the complainant and the apprehended woman were transferred to Sanyo police station in the state police command for further investigation.