Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has damned the consequences of meeting with officials of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who is a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was seen in a viral video on social media paying a consultation visit to the national chairman of the SDP, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam.

The party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, had earlier visited El-Rufai at his Abuja residence.

Later, the SDP National Working Committee (NWC) officials received El-Rufai at the party’s secretariat.

During the visit, Gabam reportedly noted El-Rufai’s rich and remarkable political pedigree, saying he is a friend and respected national figure.

“This is a welcome development that concerned Nigerians are cross-fertilizing ideas on how to salvage the nation’s present unpleasant socio-economic challenges of the times. The prevailing circumstance calls for bi-partisan and robust collaborations that transcend ethnic and religious lines to address the nation’s woes and find sustainable ways to redeem the situation,” Gabam was quoted to have said at the meeting.

He also said to achieve the needed transformation in the country, Nigerians need a leader like El-Rufai whom he said has a high political pedigree.

However, in one of the videos of the visit, someone was heard at the background telling the photographer not to upload the photos and video on X, but El-Rufai responded, saying, “Let them upload it; I don’t care.”

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was on his way to securing a ministerial appointment in the government of President Bola Tinubu but he was dropped in the dying minute.

Although Tinubu nominated him and he was screened by the senate, the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly failed to confirm him, citing a security report.

Subsequently, the former minister went abroad and literarily withdrew from politics.

However, he returned to the country and continued his life quietly.

Wednesday’s visit to SDP has sparked rumours on El-Rufai’s interest in contesting the 2027 presidency against Tinubu.

‘El-Rufai not running against Tinubu’

But Muyiwa Adekeye, the former governor’s media aide, has denied that his principal is gearing to square up with Tinubu.

In a statement posted on X, Adekeye said, “I consider the most recent speculations about Malam Nasir @elrufai as reflecting an unhealthy obsession with politics. People have personal histories and relationships that predate political affiliations. It cannot be a hallmark of civilisation to have friends from within only your political party. When people visit each other or mingle across party lines, it is because human relationships exist, distinct from the political or the partisan.”

“Malam Nasir @elrufai is a senior member of the APC, one of the signatories to its merger documents, and a significant contributor to the party’s demonstrated viability. These contributions do not require that he treats friends as anathema on account of politics or maintains an antiseptic distance from them.

“Malam Nasir @elrufai hosted some friends to Iftar on Tuesday, 19 March 2024. NSA Nuhu Ribadu was at the Iftar with a senior APC figure like Alh. Kashim Imam. SDP National Chairman Shehu Musa Gabam was among the friends who partook in the Iftar. Gabam was not accused of considering crossing over to the APC on account of that.

“When Malam Nasir @elrufai visited Gabam the next day, he was merely returning a visit to a friend who happens to be SDP chairman. Malam El-Rufai is known for being open and forthright. If he had any political decisions to make, it would not be in character to let them be subject to speculation.

“”Unfounded speculations about Malam Nasir @elrufai have become an industry that has delivered tons of lies and clickbaits in the last 18 years. This is unlikely to abate anytime soon, given the persistent obsession of its purveyors who relish in negativity and their tireless indulgence in conflating assumption with fact. A recent instance was when he visited former presidents late in 2023 to explain his Nigerian governance study book project covering each of their tenures, the speculators said it was about politics! That is why it is sometimes necessary to clarify matters lest the unwary be taken in.”

The National Peace Committee, led by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Thursday, explained why it did not penalise candidates and political parties who flouted the peace accord entered into ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The NPC had come under criticism over its silence following reported skirmishes, intimidations, and alleged vote-buying activities, especially at the February 25 presidential election where the current President, Bola Tinubu, was declared the winner.

Reacting to the criticism, NPC’s Head of Secretariat and Executive Director of The Kukah Centre, Revd Fr Atta Barkindo explained that the national peace committee does not have the constitutional power to arrest or prosecute any politician.

Addressing newsmen at the public presentation of preliminary evaluation report on support to the NPC through The Kukah Centre on Wednesday, Barkindo said it was the responsibility of the police and other security agencies constituted by law to go after violators of the peace accord.

He said, “What people don’t understand is that the NPC as a peace committee doesn’t have a constitutional power to arrest or prosecute anybody.

“All the agencies constituted by law are available to do all that. What we are adding is a moral intervention where these institutions have failed. So what we do is once we sign an accord and it is violated, there are institutions we hand them (erring politicians) over to.

“Even without the NPC handing them over, people can clearly see what is happening. Let the police and those who are constituted by law get up and do their job.

“We are simply adding value, and I don’t want people to place too much expectation on the National Peace Committee to go beyond its mandate. But beyond the signing of the peace accord, when you assemble presidential candidates two days to an election and they are all over the media, they can actually publicly recommit themselves to the process.

“For me, that is adding value to the entire electoral costs and that is what we bring to the table because it helps to douse the tension, reduce the level of bitterness and helps citizens to hold these people to account especially, when they publicly declare that they will accept the outcome of the vote as long as it is free, fair and credible.

“And to be honest, people are abiding by the terms of the accord because at the end of the day, when the results were announced, there was no widespread violence. People went to court, and that was what the accord said.

“If you’re aggrieved, go to court. Some people were aggrieved, and they actually went to court. So as far as we are concerned, the terms of the accord have been really complied with. The rest of the issues of violence, there are agencies constituted by law to address that. I think they should just get up and do their job.”

The Federation Account Allocation Committee shared N1.152.trn to the three tiers of government for February 2024 from a gross total of N2,326.14trn.

This was revealed in a statement signed by its Director, Press and Public Relations, Mohammed Manga, after its February 2024 meeting chaired by the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Thursday.

FAAC is responsible for reviewing and adopting the allocation of funds to states and the Federal Government.

Every month, the committee distributes revenue to all 36 states and 774 local governments in Nigeria.

This funding is expected to fuel development and assist governments at different levels in fulfilling their responsibilities

From the stated amount inclusive of Gross Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax Electronic Money Transfer Levy and Exchange Difference, the Federal Government received N352.40bn, the states received N366.95bn, the local government areas got N267.15bn, while the oil-producing states received N166.24bn as derivation, (13 per cent of mineral revenue).

The statement added that N66.45bn was given for the cost of collection, N856.93bn was allocated for transfer intervention and refunds, and N250bn was saved.

The document showed the total revenue distribution for the month.was drawn from Statutory Revenue of N101.34bn VAT of N428.80bn, N15.15bn from EMTL, and N607.44bn from Exchange Difference, bringing the total distributable amount for the month to N1,152.75trn.

The communique issued by the FAAC at the end of the meeting indicated that the Gross Revenue available from the VAT for February 2024 was N460.48bn, which was an increase from the N420.73bn distributed in the preceding month, increasing to N39.75bn.

From that amount, N18.42bn was allocated for the cost of collection and N13.26bn was given for transfers, intervention and refunds.

The remaining N428.80bn was distributed to the three tiers of government, of which the Federal Government got N64.32bn, the states received N214.40bn, and local government councils got N150.08bn.

Accordingly, the Gross Statutory Revenue of N1,192.42bn received in the month was higher than the sum of N1,151.80bn received in the previous month of January 2024 N40.62bn. From that amount, the sum of N47.40bn was allocated for the cost of collection, a total sum of N843.67bn for Transfers, Intervention and Refunds and a total of N200bn saved.

From the remaining balance of N101.34bn, FG got the sum of N7.35bn, States received N3.72bn, while the sum of N87.39bn was allocated to LGCs as Derivation (13 per cent Mineral Revenue).

Also, the sum of N15.78bn from EMTL was shared and the FG received N2.27bn, States got N7.57bn, LGCs received N5.30bn, while N0.63bn was allocated for Cost of Collection.

The statement also disclosed that from the sum of N657.44bn from Exchange Difference, the FG received N278.46bn, States got N141.24bn, while the sum of N108.89bn was allocated to Local Government Councils, N78.85bn was given for Derivation (13 per cent of Mineral Revenue) and the total of N50bn was saved.

It also revealed that Petroleum Profit Tax Value Added Tax, Import Duty, Excise Duty and Customs External Tariff levies increased significantly, while Oil and Gas Royalties increased marginally. Electronic Money Transfer Levy and Companies Income Tax recorded considerable decreases.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Edu said, “On the fiscal side, there is a move to raise the forex trading.”

He informed the gathering that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, in its determination to achieve and ensure rapid and sustained economic growth in the country, has commenced the intervention programme which is a direct payment to about 15 – to 17m poorest and vulnerable Nigerians, after carefully making sure that the system is fraud-free, using the Biometric Registration and Digital Registering.

He explained that “there is an increase in revenue, and we are commending the revenue-generating agencies for their hard work.”

The naira maintained a steady appreciation against the United States dollar on Thursday, gaining N18 to close 1,382/$ at the official market.

This came as Presidency warned currency speculators to desist from unpatriotic act against the national currency, saying racketeers would have their fingers burnt.

The naira gain came a day after the local currency recorded major gains at both the official and parallel foreign exchange markets. It closed at the black market at N1,400/dollar on Wednesday.

The summary of the FX trading auction revealed that naira appreciated by 1.3 percent following increased dollar supply at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited.

The intraday high closed at N1,598 per dollar on Thursday, stronger than N1,620 it closed at on Wednesday. Also, the intraday low strengthened to N1,300/$ on the same day, stronger than N1,350/$1 closed at on the previous day.

The dollar supplied by FX market players increased to $288.47, an increase of $2 or 7.46 percent from $268.29 million recorded on Wednesdat from $195.13 million at NAFEM.

In the recent weeks, the naira has gained N500 against the dollar from it record low this year at the unofficial market, as the CBN builds confidence in FX market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria declared on Wednesday that it has successfully resolved all valid foreign exchange backlogs, as pledged by Governor Olayemi Cardoso, addressing inherited claims amounting to $7bn.

Hakama Sidi Ali, CBN’s acting director of corporate communications, conveyed this information in a statement sent via mail. She stated that the CBN finalised the payment of $1.5 billion to settle obligations to bank customers, thereby clearing the remaining balance of the FX backlog.

Cardoso emphasised the priority of clearing the FX backlog to enhance credibility and confidence in the Nigerian economy.

The strain on the naira/dollar exchange rate is gradually diminishing, with Nigeria’s external reserves showing sustained growth over the past month.

According to data from the CBN, foreign currency reserves rose by 3.62 percent to $34.37 billion as of March 12, 2024, compared to $33.17 billion recorded at the beginning of February 2024.

Additionally, the CBN reported a significant surge in Diaspora remittances, which skyrocketed by 433 percent to $1.3 billion in February, compared to $300 million in January

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has cautioned currency traders speculating on foreign exchange to sell their dollar holdings, stating that the naira is expected to increase in value soon.

He advised speculators to sell off their dollars to prevent potential losses swiftly.

Onanuga said, “With backlog FX settled, Naira is set to appreciate further, faster. Currency speculators should quickly dump their stock of dollars to avoid sorrows and tears.

On Wednesday, the naira closed trading at 1,410/dollar at the parallel market and N1,492 at the official Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, according to data compiled from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

The gain recorded by the naira at the official market represents an appreciation of N68 or 4.5 per cent, from the N1,560/$1 recorded on Tuesday at NAFEM, and a gain of 13.5 per cent or N190 at the parallel market.

The naira has been gaining lately as speculators begin to dump their dollar stocks, following waning demand by prospective buyers amid CBN clampdowns.

A string of circulars by the Central Bank of Nigeria in recent weeks and months have helped to plug leakages and blocked loopholes previously explored by currency speculators and racketeers.

Also, the recent clampdowns on the activities of illegal BDC operators in Lagos, Abuja and Kano by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have helped to reduce the volatility of the naira

The Federal Government may save an estimated amount of over N5bn every quarter from the new policy banning officials of Ministries, Departments and Agencies from embarking on public-funded foreign trips for three months, according to an analysis of government budget data by The PUNCH.

The data was collated from the breakdown of funds earmarked for international travels in the 2024 budget by 103 MDAs.

President Bola Tinubu had raised concerns about the rising costs of international travels borne by director, permanent sectaries and workers of the federal civil service.

As result, the president in a letter dated March 12, 2024; signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, banned government officials from embarking on public-funded trips overseas.

The ban, which is meant to reduce costs in governance, will become effective April 1, 2024.

It read partly, “Considering the current economic challenges and the need for responsible fiscal management, I am writing to communicate Mr President’s directive to place a temporary ban on all public funded international trips for all Federal Government officials at all levels, for an initial period of three months from Ist April 2024.”

It added, “This temporary measure is aimed at cost reduction in governance and intended as a cost-saving measure without compromising government functions.”

Tinubu, however, added that government officials who needed to go on any public-funded foreign trip must seek and get presidential approval at least two weeks before embarking on such trip, which must be ‘deemed absolutely necessary’.

The latest development came days after Nigerians, civil society organizations and rights groups lambasted the Accountant General of the Federation, commissioners of finance of the 36 states of the federation and other government officials for choosing to hold a workshop in the United Kingdom at a time when the economy was experiencing a major downturn.

However, in the breakdown, the latest policy by the Tinubu administration is expected to affect 43 permanent secretaries. According to findings, there are currently 43 PS under the Federal Civil Service.

According to an analysis of MDAs notable for travelling, the State House (Presidency) will save about N1.74bn in three months while the Vice President’s office will save N307.3m. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources with a total budget of N1.19bn for international travel will save N299.5m in three months.

Further analysis also stated that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment will save N176.79m if the directive is implemented. Also, the National Defence College will save N984.6m from its total budget of N3.9bn for overseas travel while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will save N434.56m. Similarly, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency will save N860.8m from its total budget of N1.04bn. The Office of the Secretary General of the Federation will save N47.5m if it adheres to the presidential directive while the auditor general will return N114.9m to government coffers due to the policy.

Furthermore, the Finance Ministry will save N173.2m while the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning will keep N173m if its workers shelve plan to travel internationally. For the Command and Staff College, a total of N631.48m will be saved in three months. The Ministry of Justice will preserve N212.32m if the directive is implemented while the Youth Development Ministry will save N70.8m.

Findings show that the cost could be more if foreign trips budgets of other MDAs that are not notable for travelling overseas are also incurred.

Tinubu had implemented a number of initiative aimed at cutting the cost of governance.

On January 8, the President approved “cost-cutting” measures that involve slashing, by 60%, official entourage on local and international travels.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed this while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ngelale said the directive applied to the Offices of the President, Vice President, First Lady, Wife of the Vice President and all Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

He said, “President Bola Tinubu has approved that anywhere he travels within this country he will no longer accept or allow huge security delegations to be following him from Abuja, which attracts massive bills with respect to estacode and duty allowances from now on.

“He has approved a massive cost-cutting exercise that will cut across the entire Federal Government of Nigeria and the Offices of the President himself, the Vice President and the Office of the First Lady. It will be conducted in the following fashion.

“On international trips, the President has directed that no more than 20 individuals be allowed to travel with him. That number will be cut down to five in the case of the First Lady. Additionally, the number in the entourage on official international trips for the Vice President will be cut to five. The number that will be placed as a limit on the wife of the Vice President is also five.”

The decision came five weeks after Nigerians criticised the Tinubu administration for participating in the United Nation’s annual climate summit, COP28, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates with 1,114 delegates.

Controversial Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has made an accusation against the Nigerian military.

He accused the military of being ‘very hard’ on bandits in the northern part of the country.

Gumi said both the Army and Air Force have launched ground and air strikes that have killed the bandits’ families.

He spoke on Wednesday while fielding questions during an X Space titled, ‘When will there be an end to Nigeria’s recurring abductions?’, organised by Daily Trust.

Gumi insisted that it is only a non-kinetic approach that can halt the activities of bandits in the North.

“To them (military) they are fighting a war. Honestly, the military has been very hard on them, the Air Force is killing their families,” Gumi said.

He said, “To them (military) they are fighting a war. Honestly, the military has been very hard on them, the Air Force is killing their families.

“When you think of synergy, you can’t rule out the military, but there has to be synergy. Let the non-kinetic approach be in the front. When it fails, then the kinetic can come in.

“And in fact, it will come in a better position because the non-kinetic approach will give access to have a better intelligence, better knowledge and with that kind of intensive engagement in negotiation.”

A former Director of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mike Ejiofor has called for a full investigation into the killing of 17 military personnel in Okuama, Delta state.

He said an objective inquiry will incriminate some very important personalities.

Making the demands during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Thursday, Ejiofor wondered why a lieutenant colonel, two majors, one captain and 13 other military personnel would be deployed to settle a land dispute.

The former Director urged the Federal Government to set up a “high-powered, independent investigation” to explain the reasons behind the deployment of 17 military personnel including the Commanding Officer of the 181 Amphibious Battalion on a peace-keeping mission to the communities engaged in a land dispute.

“The federal or state government should set up this or harmonise: the state government brings representatives, the federal government brings representatives to form a very high-powered, independent investigation that will come up with an objective report of what happened because as it is now, people are scampering, some people that might be indicted in this investigation, because a lieutenant colonel, two majors cannot on their own just move out on a peace-keeping mission in a community.

“There is so much to this incident that must be found out.

“The military is a party interested; they cannot undertake such an investigation.

“By now, the Federal Government or the state government must have set up an investigative panel to look into this matter because time is running out.

”We need to get to the root of this matter to know what really happened,” he said.

Ejiofor added that for future operations, the military should involve the Police and DSS operatives in such civilian assignments.

He said, “If there is a peacekeeping, two parties must be involved; people from the two communities must be involved and a neutral ground will be taken, possibly the local government headquarters, if you are talking of peace initiative."

The Federal Government has commissioned the Mines Marshals, a paramilitary squad to curb the menace of illegal mining in the country.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, launched the Marshals at an event in Abuja on Thursday.

Alake said the squad was formed from a unit of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).

The minister added that the unit would also curb the smuggling of solid minerals from the country to foreign nations.

Recall that the minister said on Tuesday that no mining license would be issued to prospective investors without requisite plans for value addition on minerals.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, Alake said the federal government had resolved to ensure compliance before permitting investors to operate.

He said that his Seven-Point Agenda for the ministry had placed the mining sector on global front burner since assuming office, which had generated renewed interest from the international community in Nigeria’s mineral resources.

He said the support of the executive and the legislature had enabled the ministry to showcase the solid minerals sector globally, resulting in his election as the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to him, with the pact that led to the formation of the AMSG, there is now unity of purpose on the African continent regarding the issue of local value addition.

He said: “We are no longer going to allow anybody or license any company that wants to go into the mineral sector without giving us a plan for local value addition, like processing, refining and this has a multiplier effect on the economy.

“It instantly generates employment rather than a few people carting away lithium, gold, and the likes to other countries to sell.

“These minerals must now be processed in Nigeria, creating more value and beneficiation for local communities where they are sourced.”

Foreign airlines operating in the country have criticized the announcement made by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stating that it has cleared all outstanding backlog of valid foreign exchange claims.

Daily Post reported on Wednesday that the CBN said it has cleared the balance of $7 million pending valid forex backlog.

Also, in January this year, the apex bank disclosed that it had concluded the payment of all verified claims by foreign airlines with the payment of an additional $64.44 million to concerned airlines.

However, the President of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria, AFARN, Kingsley Nwokoma, in an interview with Leadership on Thursday stated that about $700 million belonging to foreign airlines was still trapped in the country.

He challenged the CBN to show evidence of payment, if it truly cleared the backlog of FX belonging to the foreign airlines.

“This statement is just like the same thing they said the last time.

“If they say they cleared all forex backlog, and which include the foreign airlines’ backlog, it’s easy, it’s just for them to show everyone evidence to see that the foreign airlines backlog has been paid.

“However, it’s still the same amount they paid.

“They paid twice and we all know that the foreign airlines are complaining that they are still being owed over $700 million.

“If they say they have cleared it, then they should be transparent because transparency means showing how much they have paid to each sector, they should let us know,” Nwokoma stated.

President Bola Tinubu says his government is making sacrifices and working assidously to build a prosperous Nigeria.

Tinubu made this known on Wednesday in Abuja when he broke Ramadan fast with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the leadership of the House.

He stated that there was light at the end of the tunnel, imploring the legislators not to forget their constituencies and to take advantage of the holy month of Ramadan to show love and support the less privileged in society

Tinubu, who expressed confidence in the ability of the National Assembly to uphold good governance, lauded the existing cordial relationship between the executive and the legislature.

He said the harmonious working relationship had resulted in the expeditious passage of several bills to improve the welfare of Nigerians.

”We are making sacrifices for the country, and we are assuring citizens that there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.

”We must have faith, and please do not forget your constituencies and remember what they are going through.

”I cannot thank you enough for what you are doing, but it is for our country. There is nothing personal about this. It is for Nigeria, and we have no other country but Nigeria,” the President stated.

On the recent dastardly killing of soldiers on national duty in Delta State, the President while expressing his heartfelt condolences to the families of the bereaved, pledged that the sacrifices of the fallen heroes would never be in vain.

The President announced that the officers would be given a befitting burial and national honours.

”In responding to distress calls, they met the end of their lives in a savage manner. Let us work to sympathize and symbolize the fact that they are worth the sacrifices they have made for Nigeria.

”We salute all our men and women in uniform, and we sympathize with them. I will soon make further pronouncements, but they must have a befitting burial and national honours,” the President said.