The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Sunday announced that it has sanctioned some officials over the harassment of a female Hijab-wearing candidate.

The female candidate who sat her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos was said to have been asked to remove her headcover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall.

Addressing the issue in a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs of the Board, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board noted that it deeply regretted the incident.

It said on investigation, it discovered that the incident or others in the past were not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the Board’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the its guidelines on accreditation.

The statement read, “This situation was instantly addressed by a senior official of the Board at the center and the candidate in question was allowed in after the usual checks with her hijab.

“However, since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the officials have been appropriately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others, who might wish to toe the same line going forward.

“It is worthy of note that the Board, as a national institution, has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions as these are the facts of everyday life in Nigeria, which everyone should have been familiar with by now.” 

Furthermore, the Board assured the general public that the issue would be properly investigated as to prevent a recurrence.

“The Board is committed to the discharge of its statutory role of ensuring that suitably qualified candidates are selected for admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions and would not allow anything or anyone to detract it from the pursuit of this noble goal,” it reiterated.

Meanwhile, the conduct of 2024 UTME, which commenced on Friday, 19th April 2024, has been marred with reports of technical glitches as over 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the examination by Monday, 22nd April 2024.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to the fresh suspension of the party’s national Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from the party.

Naija News earlier reported that another APC faction had also suspended Ganduje.

Reacting to the development on Sunday, the chairman and secretary of Ganduje ward in Dawakin Tofa local government of Kano state, Ahmed Muhammed Ganduje and Usaini Jibrinn said no new election was conducted by the state or national body of the APC.

Speaking via a statement made available to Naija News, the duo said the sponsored group could not do their homework properly by using a fake or uncertified headed paper on which they drew a list of non existing party executive.

“To the best of our knowledge, as executive members of Ganduje ward of the APC, there was no new election of new leadership of our party. We remain the same executive of the ward,” the statement added.

The executive members subsequently called on the national body to facilitate the arrest and persecution of the group for impersonators attempting to cause persecution of the group for impersonation.

They also called on party members to disregard such propaganda aimed at disrupting the party.

Naira, Nigeria’s currency is set to stabilise further as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has agreed with the International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) and foreign investors to double remittance flow in the country, in the short to medium term.

To achieve this, the CBN said it is setting up a tax force that will ensure that all hindrances to the foreign inflows are addressed. 

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN, disclosed this at a joint press conference of the ministry of finance and the CBN in Washington D.C. at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank meetings. 

Foreign exchange inflows to Nigeria rose to $2.3 billion in February, the central bank according to the CBN, driven by renewed interest from foreign investors and a rise in overseas remittances.

According to Statista the personal remittances received in Nigeria increased by 0.7 billion U.S. dollars (+3.59 percent) in 2022. In total, the personal remittances received amounted to 20.13 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

Remittances are flows of money between immigrants and their relatives. They refer to personal transfers between resident and non-resident individuals, and the compensation of employees who are employed in an economy where they are not resident, and of residents employed by non-resident entities.

“Besides our meetings with multilateral financial institutions, and foreign investor groups, with a keen interest on developments in Nigeria, including the US Chamber of Commerce, we had very productive discussions with leading international money transfer operators IMTOs, where we collectively committed to doubling remittance flows through formal channels into Nigeria in the immediate short to medium term. 

“This target is both ambitious and achievable. And we are wasting no time in setting up a collaborative Task Force reporting to myself to drive progress and address any bottlenecks that hinder flows through formal channels,” Cardoso said.

The naira weakened by the most in over a month at the parallel market on Friday, ending a rally since late March that had made the currency the world’s best performer.

A dollar sold for N1,230 in street trading on Friday, a 17 percent decline compared to N1,050 the previous day.

Traders say there was an uptick in demand on the day but still expect the naira to pare the losses in the coming days.

The naira also depreciated at the official market to N1,169.99 against the dollar on Friday — a 1.38 percent drop from the N1,154.08/$ rate on April 18.

He said in the six months since assumed the position of Central Bank governor, the challenges have been significant from grappling with inflation to addressing volatility in the foreign exchange market.

“However, with relative stability now achieved particularly in the foreign exchange market, we have transitioned from firefighting to strategic planning across key areas.

“These areas include improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria to consolidate and sustain the gains through an efficient and transparent market system and boosting financial and economic inclusion for small businesses and households. Interrogating all potential ways to leverage smarter use of technology and remote banking to reduce the cost of transactions and expand access accessibility to the financial system,” Cardoso said.

Mr Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, has expressed confidence about raising 300 million dollars in capital for Access Bank, considering the bank’s strong market position and shareholders’ support.

Aig-Imokhuede said this in an interview on the sideline of Access Holdings’ second Annual General Meeting(AGM) held in Lagos.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on March 29, directed commercial banks in Nigeria with international authorisation to shore up their capital base to N500 billion and national banks to N200 billion.

Similarly, non-interest banks with national and regional authorisation will increase their capital to N20 billion and N10 billion, respectively.

The recapitalisation exercise is expected to commence from April 1, through March 31, 2026.

Consequently, the shareholders of Access Bank at the AGM unanimously backed the Group’s plan to establish a capital raising programme of up to $1.5 billion.

They also agreed to the subset initiative to raise up to N365 billion specifically, through a Rights Issue of ordinary shares to its shareholders.

The proceeds of the rights issue will be used to support ongoing working capital needs, including organic growth funding for the group’s banking and other non-banking subsidiaries

Aig-Imokhuede explained that having announced to embark on a capital raising through Right Issue, he was confident that the group’s shareholders would support the bank in the journey.

He stated that Access Holdings has a unique relationship with the capital market in Nigeria and internationally.

“It is not the first time CBN is coming up with such policy.

“Recall that in 2004 when CBN announced that all banks must recapitalise to the tune of N25 billion and Access Bank had about N3 billion of capital.

“Between 2004 and 2007, however, our team, when I was the CEO of the bank, raised two billion dollars of common equity capital.

“Therefore, in 2024 when Access Holdings is much older, wiser, stronger, larger and significantly respected by the capital market with over 800,000 shareholders, raising 300 million dollars in capital for Access Bank, its banking subsidiary is not really much of a challenge.

“We signalled to the market first that we will be doing a Right Issue, which means that we must carry everybody along, in spite of our large institutional shareholders.

“Nonetheless, we believe in ensuring that shareholders, either large or small, continue with us on our journey.

“They have always supported us when need be with good reasons, because they believe in the company and the performance that would be delivered subsequently to such capital raising exercise.

“What is on the mind of our shareholders now is recapitalisation and they are also concerned about how their company continues to deliver returns,” he said.

Commenting on the CBN recapilisation policy, the chairman noted that Access Bank as a group endorses the CBN policy wholeheartedly.

Aig-Imokhuede described the policy as a good and sensible prudential regulation.

He added that banks, particularly after period of significant devaluation of domestic currency, volatility in the foreign exchange, and interest rate regime, are always encouraged to build up their capital buffer.

According to him, this is to ensure that whatever adverse effect that may arise as a result of the dynamic changes in the business environment would not affect their very concern.

In terms of performance and expectations from Access Holdings going forward, Aig-Imokhuede stated that the earning profile of the group, which spread across Nigeria, Africa and outside Africa subsidiaries, is very robust.

He said: “As an investor, you always look to see whether there is deep concentration where the profit is coming from; in our case, these arears are spread across three core areas that is of significant interest to local and international investors.

“If you look at the performance of banks in the year ended 2023 financial reports, you will see that all banks in naira terms have increased significantly their profitability as a result of the devaluation.

“But that isn’t the case with Access Bank, whose revaluation benefits come from the fact that it has significant international operations, because it is not a function of holding large foreign currency balances.

According to him, Access Bank, United Kingdom for example, is the largest and probably highest performing Sub-saharan African bank that has a license in the UK and making hundred of millions of naira of profit from the UK.

The chairman further said that this is not an accounting benefit that comes in the year 2023, but will continue, and with the operations of the bank in France, and across other European, Asia and Middle Eastern jurisdiction.

“We can see that the foreign currency benefit of profit in those locations are going to also accrued to the holding.

“The holding as an investor is also thinking of retail banking, which is like a utility. A retail banking with about 60 million customers is enough to sustain the bank anytime, irrespective of how volatile or uncertain the market is,” he said.

Access Holdings full-year results for the period ended Dec. 31, 2023, showcased an impressive 335 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to N729 billion from N167.68 billion in 2022.

The group also experienced an 87 per cent surge in gross earnings to N2.59 trillion from N1.39 trillion in 2022 and reported a remarkable 306 per cent growth in profit After Tax to N619.32 billion, from N152.20 billion posted in year 2022.

(NAN)

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, says he doesn’t have an account on X, formerly Twitter.

Fagbemi, in a statement on Saturday by Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity, Office of the AGF, advised members of the public not to engage with handles impersonating him.

“The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, has no Twitter handle.

“He has channels of communicating with Nigerians, but Twitter is not one of them, at least for now.

“The public should take notice of this and be well guided for future interactions,” the statement said.

Former Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amunike have won the race for the head coach position of the Super Eagles.

According to reports, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has decided to go with Amunike as the substantive head coach of the national team.

The Super Eagles head coach role will be the biggest challenge Amunike has had to handle.

The former Zamalek and Sporting Lisbon winger excelled as coach of the Golden Eaglets, leading the Nigeria U17 national team to win the FIFA U17 World Cup.

Amunike also impressed as head coach of the Tanzanian national team, guiding the Taifa Stars to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations – their first in nearly forty years.

However, Amunike’s record with Egypt’s Misr Lel Makkasa and Zambia’s Zanaco left much to be desired.

The 53-year-old coach also fumbled when placed in charge of the Flying Eagles, failing to help the Nigeria U20 team qualify for the AFCON in 2017.

Aside from Amunike, USA U20 national team coach Michael Nsien, former Manchester City assistant manager Domenec Torrent, and Fortuna Sittard coach Danny Bruijs were all running to become the Super Eagles head coach.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu ended petrol subsidy and multiple exchange rates in the official market because they were producing billionaires overnight.

Shettima spoke during a courtesy visit by a delegation of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by Gabriel Idahosa, president of the chamber, in Abuja on April 18.

Tinubu declared the end of petrol subsidy during his inaugural speech as president on May 29, 2024.

A month later, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unified the multiple exchange rates in the official markets.

Also, Shettima expressed optimism about the performance of the naira.

He said the naira will continue to appreciate in the foreign exchange (FX) market.

After a consecutive appreciation trend from March 20, the naira depreciated by 17.14 percent to N1,230 per dollar on April 19.

He said the naira will strengthen in the coming days.

“Naira went haywire and some people were celebrating but inwardly we were laughing at them because we knew that we have the leadership to reverse the trend,” he said.

“Asiwaju knows the game, and truly the naira is gaining and the difference will drop further.”

Meanwhile, Shettima said the present administration is making every effort to address challenges in the power sector because it is aware that power is crucial.

“We are determined to ensure that we generate jobs for our youths. Honestly, the President’s obsession is to live in a place of glory, to transform this country to a higher pedestal,” he said.

Shettima said Tinubu wants to leave a legacy, one of qualitative leadership since Nigeria represents the hope of the black man and Africa as a whole.

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has made state of origin certificate a compulsory requirement for passport renewal and fresh application.

Immigration made this known to the public in a post on its X handle on Saturday morning.

It said passport applicants do not necessarily need to go to their states of origin to get the “indigenship document”.

NIS added that it is aware that most states have liaison offices in other states.

“For example, Anambra state has liaison offices in Lagos (Eti-Osa) and Abuja (Asokoro),” NIS said.

According to Immigration, these liaison offices are empowered to issue such documents.

NIS said every document that the it requires from passport applicants to produce/submit/upload was carefully thought through.

It further stated that each document is backed by certain laws and policy documents.

“They are approved by the Federal Government through our supervising ministry – in this case, the Ministry of Interior,” Immigration said.

“It is quite important, especially based on certain intel that we have (but cannot disclose publicly), that ANYONE, a Nigerian of course, who wishes to obtain a Nigerian passport – a document of authority for identification and travel – MUST prove beyond reasonable doubt, that he/she is a Nigerian citizen.”

NIS stated that for one’s claim of being a Nigerian citizen to hold water, there has to be a document that “ties” an individual to a local government (indigenous area) within the country.

This document is what NIS requests that an applicant presents to them, amongst others, to authenticate one’s claim of being a citizen.

Immigration has urged passport applicants to read up the particular part of the Nigerian Constitution that bothers on citizenship.

The basic requirements for first-time passport applicants are as follows: completed passport application form, a recent passport-style photograph and a copy of your National Identification Number (NIN).

Others requirement include a copy of applicant’s birth certificate, letter of consent from your parents or guardian and payment of N5,000 for the passport application fee.

The requirements for renewal passport applicants are as follows: completed passport application form, a recent passport-style photograph, a copy of old passport and payment of N2,000 for the passport application fee.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu says Tunde Onakoya’s achievements show greatness can come from humble beginnings.

The governor, in a statement on Saturday, congratulated the young chess master for completing a 60-hour chess marathon in New York.

Tunde Onakoya is a Nigerian chess master, coach, and the founder of a non-profit initiative called Chess in Slums Africa.

He has organised several interventions for children across slums in Lagos state including Ikorodu, Makoko, and Oshodi.

The children are engaged in a two-week session to unlock their potential through chess while learning and acquiring literacy.

Onakoya would take on what became one of his most daring projects, opting to set a record for the longest chess marathon.

The Nigerian completed the Guinness World Record (GWR) attempt on Saturday after surpassing the previous mark of 56 hours.

GWR is typically expected to vet an attempt before confirming that a new record has been set on any task.

Sanwo-Olu said Onakoya’s achievement at Times Square New York captures “the true spirit of Lagos”.

“Your journey from Lagos, Nigeria to global recognition embodies the spirit of our great city,” he said of the young chess master.

“Tunde Onakoya continues to demonstrate that greatness can emerge from even the most humble beginnings.

“His remarkable story serves as a blueprint for all of us in Lagos city where his impact has been felt the most, showing that, with determination, dreams can indeed soar to monumental heights.

“Tunde’s entire journey was showcased on digital billboards and celebrated with watch parties, capturing the true spirit of Lagos. Despite enduring pain and fatigue, Tunde persevered, driven by his commitment to empower the children he champions.

“This is your moment, Tunde, and Lagos stands with you every step of the way.”

Onakoya learned to play chess at a barber’s shop in an Ikorodu Lagos slum where he grew up.

He got a diploma in computer science at Yaba College of Technology, representing the school in chess competitions.

Onakoya, aged 29, is a board member of the New York City-based non-profit The Gift of Chess.