Russian President, Vladimir Putin, says a direct conflict between Russia and NATO would mean that the planet is one step away from World War Three, according to Reuters.
The comments came as Putin claimed a landslide victory in Russia’s presidential election with 87.8 per cent of the votes.
The US, Germany, the UK, and other nations have said the election was neither free nor fair due to the imprisonment of political opponents and censorship.
During his post-election briefing, Putin said, “It is clear to everyone that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this.”
French President Emmanuel Macron previously stated that he could not rule out the possibility of deploying ground troops in Ukraine.
Responding to questions about Macron’s statements and the risks and possibility of conflict between Russia and NATO, Putin said, “Everything is possible in the modern world.”
Putin added that NATO servicemen were already in Ukraine.
Earlier, Putin stated that Russia was technically ready for nuclear war. He said if the United States sent troops to Ukraine, it would be seen as a significant escalation of the conflict.
In response, French President Macron stated that Putin should not make threats when his country possesses nuclear weapons.
According to the French president, he has not spoken with Putin for several months. Such dialogue was held “when necessary.”
In the United States, in response to Putin’s statements, it was noted that they do not see any plans by Russia to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
[Punch]
•Ozekhome, Anya, Fayemi, Tambuwal, Daniel, Duke, Aregbesola, Ibori, others proffer solutions
•Nwabueze regretted contributing to making centre too strong – Mrs Okwuosa, daughter
To halt the raging insecurity and socio-economic crises, and redirect Nigeria on the path of growth and development, there is an urgent need to do away with the 1999 constitution and give Nigeria a new people’s constitution.
This was the consensus of elder statesmen, some serving lawmakers, political leaders and lawyers who converged on Lagos, yesterday, for a National Constitutional Dialogue organised by The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians and elders in honour of late legal luminary, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN.
Themed: “Lawful Procedures For Actualising A People’s Constitution for Nigeria,” the event was to also mark the 10th anniversary of the convocation of the 2014 National Conference, which was set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan on March 17, 2014.
Eminent Nigerians who spoke at the colourful event include Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos; Chairman of The Patriots and former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Afenifere Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; former External Affairs Minister, Senator Ike Nwachukwu; former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah; and legal icon, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
Others who shared their thoughts include elder statesmen, Professor Anya O Anya, and Chief Solomon Asemota, SAN. Senator Aminu Tambuwal, Senator Gbenga Daniel, Chief Olabode George, former governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), James Ibori (Delta), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Donald Duke (Cross River), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, Dr Tunji Abayomi, Alhaji Yerima Shettima and Chief Ifeyinwa Ezenwa, a 2014 confab delegate.
Chaired by Chief Anyaoku, the event was attended by a host of 2014 confab delegates who lamented the recurring wastage of billions of naira on constitution amendments by the National Assembly and sought an end to the unending exercises without commensurate results.
Indeed, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who lamented that he did not know why some leaders at the presidency make 360 degrees turn on issues they canvassed at the state level in the past, promised to collaborate with The Patriots and other stakeholders to ensure true federalism. The governor added that he did not understand why a federal agency in Abuja should be telling Lagosians what happens on the shoreline of Ozumba Mbadiwe.
Also, Senator Tambuwal promised to take the matter to the National Assembly, alongside Senator Daniel, noting that a doctrine of necessity from the legislature might be needed to overcome the constitution amendment lacuna provided by the 1999 Constitution.
Former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi, said it was time for action, noting that “we have had this talk over and over, there’s no change. There’s a need to do something.”
On his part, Aregbesola called for a return to the parliamentary system of government, warning that the executive presidential system would kill Nigeria, if not dropped.
Attah said there was dire need for a completely new constitution, not an amended constitution.
Recalling that Professor Nwabueze regretted participating in saddling the centre with humongous powers in the name of ensuring national unity, he said the late legal giant regretted that “instead of producing unity, it is producing disunity.”
According to him, one of the fundamental and cardinal flaws of the 1999 constitution is the concentration of powers in the centre.
“We might not achieve true federalism because the basis has proven to be misguided. The unity we set to achieve was not achieved, what we achieved was more disunity. From this, it becomes critically clear that the underpinning principles that guided the drafting of our constitution has turned out to be misguided.”
Pluralist states like Nigeria succeed on true federalism — Anyaoku
Chief Anyaoku set the ball rolling via his opening remarks.
He said: “I would like to make brief observations of what I consider incontrovertible facts that should form the background of our discussions here today.
”First, Nigeria is a pluralistic country that is still struggling to become a nation, a nation with assured political stability and progressive socio-economic development. The fact from across the world is that some pluralistic countries have succeeded in becoming nations, while other pluralistic countries have failed and disintegrated.
”The lesson from this is that pluralistic countries which have succeeded in becoming nations, have generally practiced true federalism, with considerable powers devolved to the federating units.
”This fact, I must say, was recognized by the founding fathers of Nigeria who negotiated painstakingly and agreed to the independence constitution of 1960 extended to 1963.
”The second incontrovertible fact that I would like to state is that our present 1999 constitution as amended not only lacks the legitimacy that flows from a democratically made constitution, but also has proved to be unsuitable for tackling many of the serious challenges currently confronting our country.
”Thirdly, it is a widely recognized fact that the crucial areas of the country have significantly deteriorated and are continuing to deteriorate.
“To mention just a few of such areas, security of the citizens’ life and property, economic well-being of the citizens, infrastructure, including roads and education and health facilities, social cohesion and social values, and the sense of national unity. These are areas where significant deterioration has occurred over the years.
“I’d like to conclude my brief remarks by saying that there has been no shortage of opinions and prescriptions of the nature and content of what should be a suitable constitution for a pluralistic country.
”Many commentators have expressed the view that the 1963 constitution, as well as the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, provide an inescapable guide in this respect.
Why 1999 constitution’s faulty, unacceptable – Ozekhome
Delivering the guest lecture, Chief Ozekhome, who recalled that the 1999 Constitution, apart from many ambiguities, came into being via a military decree 24 of 1999, noted that the procedure by which a constitution came into being was not only important but actually more important than the content of the constitution itself.
Noting that the 1963 constitution was the best so far and recalling what the regions did because they had control of their resources and contributed 50 per cent to the centre from which they also shared 30 per cent, he stressed the need for a new grundnorm along that line.”
“The 1999 Constitution was imposed on you and me, militarily, by a military junta, led by General Abulsalami Abubakar, 28 members of the Provisional Ruling Council. It was never subjected to any referendum of the people. And guess what? The present constitution was attached as a mere schedule…
”Nigerians must own their own constitution through a popular referendum of the people like was done to the Midwest constitution on the 10th of August 1963 when it separated from the Western region. Without that, we will just be on the journey to no destination.”
[Vanguard]
A circular issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to its verification service agents has exposed the private data of over 100 million to unlicensed entities and profiteers, TheCable can report.
The whistle was first blown in a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) which said XpressVerify, an unregistered verification agent, had unrestricted access to the national identification numbers (NINs) and personal details of every Nigerian registered in the nation’s identity database managed by NIMC.
XpressVerify monetises access to NINs and the personal information of Nigerians on the database.
But in her reaction, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, the director-general and CEO of NIMC, said the commission only offers NIN verification and other services through licensed partners.
She ordered a comprehensive investigation “to find out if any of the Commission’s Tokenisation verification
agents has in any way breached the licensing agreement either directly or
through any of their sub-licensees”.
However, her response was a smokescreen, according to insiders at the commission.
TheCable can report that a recent directive by the NIMC reinstating the NIN verification service (NVS) opened the door to unlicensed and unauthorised parties to gain unfettered access to the database of all Nigerians captured on NIN.
There are suggestions that the profiteering entities have links to some NIMC staff members.
THE GENESIS
In 2012, the NIMC developed the NVS to grant verification agents access to the information stored on the database as may be demanded by Nigerians.
But following an audit by the World Bank in 2017, it was discovered that there were several vulnerabilities in the NVS and there was a need for stricter audit controls, transparency and protection of personal information.
It was discovered that a licensed agent could create its own application programming interface (API) calls and provide services to “sub agent” — unknown to NIMC.
The sub agent could use the API by the licensed agent to pull information from the NVS — also unknown to NIMC which would only see its licensed agent’s credentials making the request, whereas the data would end up elsewhere.
Licensed agents charged the sub agents for the service without remitting proceeds to NIMC under the pretext that the business was not viable — but at the same time asking clients to pay between N50 and N500 and claiming the money was meant for the NIMC.
The sub agent, realising how lucrative the business is, would also create its own API and grant access to a “sub sub agent”. It is now thought that XpressVerify is a “sub sub agent”.
As a result of these vulnerabilities, the NVS was shut down by NIMC in 2017.
THE REVERSAL
In 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Coker-Odusote as the new DG of the NIMC, following which some officials of the commission persuaded her to reopen the old, vulnerable NVS.
She was allegedly told that it only required “a more robust hardware upgrade” but that all was well with the service.
On February 26, 2024, Carolyn Folami, a director and head, business development and commercial services, issued a circular to its verification service agents to restore the NVS.
“Kindly be informed that the NIMC, in a renewed commitment towards enlarging the use of the NIN for verification services across all industry, has reopened the NVS for your organizations’ use for verification services,” she wrote, in a document seen by TheCable.
“Also note that NIMC is working on an upgrade and further improvements on the NIN Pseudonymization verification services as well, which will be duly communicated.
“Please contact the Business Development and Commercial Services department of the NIMC for renewed credentials and further support services. In addition, do provide the contact email and phone number of your organization’s team lead for the exercise.
“The foregoing is for your information and necessary action.”
An official of the commission who declined to be named for fear of victimisation said this was the root cause of the data breach.
“That memo and the directive contained in it effectively reversed all the security measures put in place in creating the NVS. It is like opening the bank vault for the public to have a free run on the cash,” the official said.
“With the roll-back to the NVS, it means anyone who has a verification licence and a NIN can query data with or without consent.
“All the reports listed about data vulnerabilities are a cover-up. It will be wise to conclude that the current CEO has no clue what she’s doing as she’s listening to folks only interested in their pockets.
“Otherwise, such a memo would never have been issued. Bottom line is NIMC does not permit any raw NIN verification. The tokenisation is user consent management. Without the ID holder providing their explicit consent, you can’t get the data. And you have to ask first and be given a virtual NIN (vNIN) which is the consent token.
“I can assure you that there are very minimal controls in place. The staff at the NIMC are the developers of the NVS solution and some created a few backdoors for themselves as there is no visibility beyond what they wish for anyone to see.”
BUT THERE’S A QUICK FIX…
TheCable was told that there is a quick fix if the government is ready to act to protect the private data of Nigerians, which is a legal right and not a privilege.
The first action, it is suggested, is the immediate shutdown of the NVS.
“Thereafter, all licensed agents should be made to sign a declaration of conformity: that they have purged all their databases of any and all personal information of NIN holders and BVN holders); that they will implement very strong data privacy initiatives, which will include but not be limited to the implementation of transparent data encryption at rest and in transit; that they will subject themselves to random external audits of their systems and agree to pay a fine where they may have been found to be in breach of the Nigerian Data Privacy Act,” an industry expert told TheCable.
He also said NIMC should authorise snap audits by forensic auditors of all verification entities and ensure that every time a person’s identity is required to be verified, the ID holder will provide electronic user consent which may be used once “and once only”.
“The commission should review security controls and provide unfettered visibility of all verification agents, by the clandestine services and functional regulators,” he suggested, adding that no raw NIN (11-digit number) should be sought or obtained by any verification entity.
“In order to protect the NIN, the ID holder should provide a user consent token (or vNIN) which will provide both one time user consent, meet the NIMC Act 2007 requirements for provision of the NIN, as well as protect the raw NIN from abuse and identity theft.
“NIMC should ensure that the ID holder has full access to all information about how their NIN has been used, how it has been verified, by whom and when, and details of all functional tokens linked to the NIN, such as health insurance, drivers’ licence and even passports, without having to provide the functional information, such as bank account numbers, passport numbers and so on.”
On Sunday night, NIMC and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued a joint statement promising to work together on the NIN-SIM link exercise.
[TheCable]
Strong indications have emerged that a potential problem of scarcity of the e-passport booklets is looming, occasioned by the non-payment of huge production debt to vendors and major stakeholders involved in the value chain of the travel document.
LEADERSHIP learnt that unless the federal government, through the offices of the minister of finance and the accountant general of the federation (AGF), halts its monthly deduction of the whooping 50 per cent fund from the income paid into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Treasury Single Account (TSA) from passport sales, specifically opened for the acquisition of the e-passports, the looming shortage of the travel document may not be averted.
A top source at the passport office at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that the misconception is that the gross income paid by passport applicants goes directly to the NIS TSA, from where the service is supposed to make payment to all stakeholders involved in the passport value chain.
He lamented that, unfortunately, before the said income drops, the federal government, which regards the money as net income, takes out 50 per cent, leaving the Immigration service with nothing reasonable to service their vendors and all stakeholders involved in the passport production process.
He said, “Let me give you an example, the cost of the 32-page passport booklet outside Nigeria is $132, while the cost of the 64-page category is $230. If you apply outside Nigeria and you pay in dollars, the money goes straight into the Federal Account which is shared amongst the three tiers of government every month by the Federation Account Committee (FAAC).”
The officer, who confirmed that there is currently a shortage of the 32-page booklets across the 48 passport-issuing outlets outside Nigeria, and the 44 outlets in the country, however, acknowledged that the agency presently has the 64-page booklets in excess but that the demand for it was very low.
“Our service providers are owed over N16 billion while printed booklets are stuck in warehouses due to our inability to offset these huge debts,” he said.
The source explained that there are booklets to be delivered to the NIS by the printers, but they are stuck in Nigeria Customs Service and DHL warehouses due to the huge debts owed them.
“The Customs Service, DHL and two Nigerian banks are amongst service providers that are insisting on the payment of their outstanding N16 billion balance before the documents would be released to us. As a matter of fact, we are meant to understand that the manufacturing firms based Slovenia, Malaysia, and another in Malta handling the e-passport projects are yet to be reimbursed in line with our agreement to always make payment two weeks after printing and supplying the e-passports,” he stated.
Another competent source at the Ministry of Interior told our correspondent that the minister of interior, Dr Tunji-Ojo, who is worried that the frightening threat of passport booklets shortage might hinder the ongoing passport reforms, single handedly sourced for and obtained grants of about N10 billion from outside the system to salvage the mess. However, unfortunately, that amount cannot make any meaningful impact.
“As I speak to you, the minister isn’t relenting; he is still busy trying to get more, but the truth is that this move is not sustainable,” he said.
Major stakeholders and experts are insisting that things can only get back if the total monies deducted from the passport production TSA is returned to the rightful owners.
“We are at the verge of approaching our very understanding President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to stop the ACG, the Minister of Finance and the CBN, letting them know that the whooping 50 per cent they usually take is not actually theirs,” the source said.
A Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive data or information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.
“The applicant’s application dated and filed 29th February, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed.
“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the judge ordered.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the interim order was granted to enable the anti-graft agency to unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
A certified true copy of the ruling, which was delivered on Feb. 29, was sighted by NAN on Monday.
The ex-parte motion, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024, was brought pursuant to Sections 6(b), (h), (I), 7(1), (a)(2), and 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 15 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended) and the inherent powers of the court.
In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Hamma Bello, an operative of the EFCC, he said he was attached to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Bello averred that, following the inauguration of the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation by the ONSA, the SIT “received an intelligence report stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
“That on receipt of the intelligence, the team began investigation by conducting surveillance of the activities of the platform.
“That the team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation, and market manipulation, which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its value against other currencies.
“That the damage the platform has caused was clearly explained to the operators of the platform, and they were requested to delist the Naira and avail the ONSA of the activities of the Nigerians on their platform.
“That, from the information afforded to the team by Binance, shows that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6 (twenty-one billion, six hundred million dollars).
“Attached and marked as Exhibit EFCC 1 is a copy of the document from Binance to the ONSA stating this fact, amongst others.
“That the commission will ensure that investigation is conducted within such reasonable time.”
Bello, who said that the matter was of utmost urgent public interest, said the data provided would enable the commission to accomplish its investigation activities.
He said it was in the interest of justice to grant the application, as refusal of the request would largely hamper the commission’s investigation.
NAN reports that Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that lists more than 350 cryptocurrencies globally.
In addition to cryptocurrency trading, it offers several services that enhance the experience for users and blockchain developers. (NAN)
The Labour Party (LP) House of Representatives caucus has rejected the March 27th proposed date for the opposition party’s National Convention, calling for a postponement.
Naija News reports that the LP leadership had initially fixed the convention to take place on March 29 but later changed it to March 27. The party’s leadership said the date was changed because the initial day falls on Good Friday, a significant date for the Christian faith worldwide.
But in a statement to journalists, the leader of the LP caucus in the lower legislative chambers, Afam Ogene, called for the postponement of the national convention for proper planning.
He stated that the party needs to make proper and more comprehensive consultations and make efforts to bring every stakeholder on board.
According to him, the party should have started with ward congresses before jumping to a national convention.
The statement read: “The national convention of any national political party is such an important event that ought not to be conducted without proper planning or in a hurry.
“While we acknowledge that the various challenges currently being thrown at the national leadership may have been responsible for the seemingly sloppy organization of the proposed convention, we hasten to add that the fact that many stakeholders, including my colleagues in parliament, were not carried along in the whole process leaves resentment trailing the process.
“While we agree that the 29th, as earlier scheduled, is not appropriate for the reasons given, we also note that the 27th is not any better. Indeed, many have wondered why a national convention would seem more preferable, as against the bottom-up approach of beginning congresses from the wards.
“In fact, even more fundamental is the health and sustainability of our dear party. The party has, for some time now, witnessed internal friction and glitches, just like every other political party in the nation. So, we in the House of Representatives, as the direct representatives of the people, are of the view that the party needs some more time to smooth the rough edges in the party leadership system and operational mechanism before the next convention.
“So, for these reasons, we respectfully call for the postponement of the national convention and the immediate activation of a consultation mechanism that would inject a healing and reinvigorating tonic in the party for a more successful and sustainable future, for the overall good of our teeming supporters and Nigeria in general.”
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, is reportedly set to retire eight directors of the apex bank, barring any last-minute change.
Naija News gathered that the directors, who were employed by the former governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, would be served early retirement letters this week.
According to Daily Trust, some directors were initially redeployed to an arm of the bank, FSS 2020, under the Governor’s Directorate, which worked closely with Emefiele.
The newspaper reported that the directors have worked from the Directorate’s office located in the Maitama District of Abuja since 24the November 2023, and are kept in a sort of pool to await “further directives.”
The newspaper said sources within the bank revealed that some had already been served the disengagement letters since Friday, 15th March 2024, but could not state clearly under what terms those affected were disengaged.
One of the sources said: “We don’t know whether they were given early retirement or their appointments were terminated outright.”
The sources could not confirm if those being served early retirement letters have been found guilty of any offences, adding that the news of the planned sack has been widespread since Thursday last week.
One of the sources said the main reason for the sack of the affected officials was “because they had worked very closely with the immediate past governor of the bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele”.
It was learned that the decision has raised great concern amongst staff of the CBN, who fear that it could be a prelude to more layoffs by the current management of the banking regulator.
Recall that the apex bank had relocated no fewer than 150 staff of the Banking Supervision Department (BSD), which is one of the 29 departments of the bank, to Lagos. The BSD is under the Financial System Stability Directorate of the CBN.
The relocation saga, it would be recalled, had generated heated controversy across the country, with many people of northern extraction alleging that it was an attempt to dislodge staff who are northerners from the institution.
But the CBN rebuffed those insinuations, insisting that it was part of a proper reorganisation of the bank, to ensure that the regular onsite examination of the 24 banks in the country was diligently carried out since most of those national and regional banks are headquartered in Lagos.
It also adduced that part of the reason for the relocation was the desire to de-congest the corporate headquarters of the bank.
The Labour Party, LP, 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi has cried out over the hardship Nigerians are passing through.
Speaking on Monday, Obi lamented the kidnapping in the country.
According to him, about 7,000 Nigerians have been kidnapped in the past one year with several cases of killings and clashes recorded across the country.
This was as he described Nigeria as one of the hungriest nations and most difficult countries to live in the North.
Posting on X, Obi called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps towards improving the situation in the country.
“In the past 1 year, about 7000 Nigerians have been kidnapped, with about 700 kidnapped in the last 3 weeks, notwithstanding the violent crimes and killings that occur in every part of the nation, which must have included us in one of the world’s riskiest countries to live in.
“A report by the globally respected publication, Financial Times, on March 12, 2024, described Nigeria’s kidnapping racket as a sign of a failed state. With all of these happening in our nation, how then can we attract foreign investors, & retain the confidence of local investors?
“We have become one of the hungriest nations in the world and one of the most difficult nations in the world to live in, with food prices constantly going out of the reach of most Nigerians. Power supply is abysmally poor and Nigerians are now mostly in total darkness,as over 60% are without power supply. Even those in perceived privileged areas now go for days without power supply.
“A 2022 Energy Progress Report designated Nigeria as the country with the largest number of people lacking access to electricity with 92 million of its over 200 million population living without electricity. About 80 percent of our primary healthcare centres are not functional. The cost of medical treatments and medicines have gone beyond the reach of most Nigerians.
“We now hold the enviable position of having the highest number of out of school children, with about 20 million out-of-school children. We need to take our children off the streets and give them access to basic education.
“I, therefore, urge our executive and legislative arms to consider the many challenges facing our nation and re-allocate resources to these very critical areas. This is the time for complete sacrifice. A New Nigeria is still very POssible,” he wrote.
Nigerians have continued to express displeasure at the alleged padding of the 2024 budget.
Some are concerned about the huge figures involved in the allegations, while others are alleging that the Senate attempted to “sweep under the carpet” the allegations, with the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi).
Recall that Ningi was last week suspended for three months over the allegation.
The former chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum had claimed in a BBC Hausa Service interview that the 2024 budget was padded to the tune of N3.7 trillion.
During the debate over Ningi’s allegation, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe (Cross River) had revealed that “senior senators” were allegedly allocated constituency projects worth N500 million in the budget.
This had led to more revelations with several senators having to clarify how much was allocated to them.
Over the weekend, Nigerians explored different platforms, including the social media, radio and television, to express their views on the matter.
Some of those who spoke to Daily Trust yesterday, including former senators, called for a holistic investigation into Ningi’s allegations.
N212bn streetlights, N82.5bn boreholes part of insertions
Findings by BudgIT, a foremost civic-tech organisation with specialty in budget analytics, revealed that the National Assembly inserted a total of 7,447 projects totaling N2.24 trillion in the 2024 Budget, with 55 projects with cumulative value of N580.7 billion costing at least N5 billion each.
BudgIT’s findings also showed that N100 billion envelope was earmarked in the 2024 Executive Budget Proposal for lawmakers to nominate constituency/zonal intervention projects in their constituencies, but that the lawmakers went above the amount earmarked “to insert thousands of constituency-like projects in the budgets of 326 MDAs that in most cases neither have the mandate nor technical capacity to implement and monitor the execution of the projects.
“For example, 1,777 projects worth N218.6 billion are to be directly delivered in federal constituencies while 1,308 projects with a value of N176 billion are directly in senatorial districts. Other categories of projects include 1,150 streetlights worth N212 billion, 427 boreholes worth N82.5 billion, 170 ICT projects with a value of N30.95 billion, and N7.61 billion for empowerment of traditional rulers. If our analysis shows that 1,308 projects are to be implemented specifically in senatorial districts, it is not out of place that apart from the constituency projects, lawmakers also added up projects to their constituencies, at least N500 million each.”
Meanwhile, a report that analysed the details of the 2024 Budget has revealed that the senatorial district of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, comprising 10 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State, might have gotten as much as N90 billion worth of projects, with at least 280 of such domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
A breakdown of the budget shows that N7.2 billion was allocated for construction and equipping of ICT centres; N395 million for construction and equipping of community schools; N957 million for supply of sewing machines, hairdressing/barbing equipment, and deep freezers; N50 million for construction of district head palace; N4 billion for construction of police stations.
Others include N12.7 billion for construction of roads within communities and supply of transformers; N3.1 billion for farm implements, motorcycles, tricycles, welding machine to artisans, and buses; N4.5 billion for empowerment materials and training of women and youths and provision of grants; N474 million for security cars; N1.22 billion for educational materials to selected schools; N1.220 billion for medical supplies and equipment to health centres; N2.996 billion for starter packs for youths and women
Also included is N7.551 billion for solar powered boreholes and streetlights; N1.095 billion for workspace and farm stalls; N475 million for development of agricultural value chains; N4.090 billion for equipment of primary healthcare centres.
I got N1bn for constituency projects – Senator
The senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, disclosed that he received N1 billion for constituency projects.
Speaking on a podcast, Nwoko corroborated Senator Ali Ndume’s claims that the allocation of resources to the legislators often varies based on their respective positions in the leadership of the chamber, and the magnitude of their constituency projects.
The lawmaker said: “Senators get what they lobby for, not because they have the right to it. Everybody just goes about doing what they can do for their constituencies and senatorial districts.
“A better approach would have been for senatorial uniformity. So, if they say that everyone should get about N1 billion, be it. But this way, you rely on your weight and contacts to see what you can get for your people.
“We’re not talking about money for the senators. This is for projects within our senatorial districts. If you have road, water, or training programmes, all should aggregate to a particular amount.”
‘Constituency projects riddle with corruption’
Bolanle Bolawole, a columnist, faulted the argument in support of the “constituency projects” insertion that lawmakers “want to ensure fair and equitable distribution of projects all over the country.
“Without becoming contractors, they can ensure equity before passing the budget”, stressing that from what we he observed, the constituency projects are riddled with corruption.
“The constituencies seldom get value for money. Carcasses of constituency projects litter the landscape of Nigeria. The system employed is opaque and not transparent,” he stated.
Prof. Tonnie Iredia, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), said: “The argument that legislators have a right to review a budget before approving it becomes puerile when the power to review is abused by distorting the document with new incoherent items in which several projects are inexplicably lumped into the budgets of agencies that have no responsibility for such projects.
“For example, the National Agency for Great Green Wall set up to prevent land degradation and desertification afflicting parts of the country suddenly found within its budget, N1.3 billion for purchasing motorcycles, street lights and other projects outside its mandate.
“If budgeting is not appropriately directed to its proper target, it can be assumed that such distortion is a veiled attempt to budget for nebulous items that would in the end be diverted to private pockets”, he noted.
Iredia said the allegations by Ningi were too weighty to be concluded without a thorough investigation.
“The number of times the courts have held that the National Assembly cannot suspend their members and the fact that the latter continues to disobey the judgment seems to confirm the hypothesis that such suspensions are merely face-saving as well as a device to punish all members who divulge secrets from which the group hugely gains materially,” he said.
Prof. Kamilu Sani Fage, a renowned political analyst, in an interview with Daily Trust, said the allegation of budget padding was a very serious matter, “especially when one looks at the impact the N3.7 trillion mentioned can make in vital social sectors like education, health, water.”
He called for an independent investigation into the matter.
Ex-senators slam Senate
Senator El-Jibrin Doguwa, who represented Kano South in 1999, told Daily Trust that he felt bad about “what is happening currently in the Senate because whatever happens, either directly or indirectly affects all other senators who are not even serving, because it’s an institution we’ve established for quite a long time.”
According to him, “in an ideal situation, a senator has nothing to do with projects. But because of the demands of constituents, lawmakers started advocating projects for their constituencies, but a lot of lawmakers have come to abuse this right.”
He said the issue “is not much about the legality of it, but about the management of the projects.”
Senator Alex Kadiri, who represented Kogi East in 1999, also lampooned members of the 10th Senate for suspending Ningi for “blowing the whistle” on the 2024 national budget.
He said instead of suspending Ningi, the 10th Senate should have explained the details of the budget, especially areas not clear to Nigerians.
“Ningi is just a whistle-blower. Why are they punishing Ningi for telling us the truth?” he queried.
Fatuhu Muhammad, who represented Daurawa/Sandamu/Maiadu’a Federal Constituency of Katsina State in the 9th Assembly, said many lapses in the Nigerian budgeting system allowed for the various abuses and corruption.
He said: “We’re operating a faulty budgeting system. It has been the same since independence. When you observe very well, it has been a copy-and-paste system year-in and year-out. We only change the figures.
“The main culprits in these padding and other allegations are the big people in the MDAs. Why I said this is that our budget originates from the executive. They sit down and formulate everything and then the president brings it to the National Assembly for endorsement.
“The National Assembly cannot escape from its failures because it failed to provide the scrutiny needed to have the budget work for the people.
“As long as we have this faulty budgeting system in place, legislators must be ready for the backlash. They allowed themselves to be used. What I mean by being used is that people were made to believe that they can do the work of the executive like the provision of water, roads, electricity and other basic amenities which are outside their statutory functions of making laws and keeping the executive arm in check.
“Since the National Assembly has the power of appropriations, what stops the members in the two chambers from cleaning the system and avoiding the controversies about budget padding and taking the whole blame? They need to wake up and do the needful to protect the image of the National Assembly as an institution and clear themselves of the infractions being perpetrated”, he further queried.
N/Assembly has powers to tinker with budget – Senator Urhoghide
Senator Matthew Urhoghide, who presented Edo South in the 8th and 9th Senate sessions, said the parliament was constitutionally empowered to make insertions into what the president presented to it.
He said: “Budget padding is completely misconstrued. It’s a deliberate insertion of some line items into the budget by the National Assembly that were not included by the executive.
“The National Assembly is empowered to make changes to the budget. The law does not say the National Assembly must pass exactly what the president presented to it. If the budget was passed as presented without changes, then there’s no need to bring the budget to the National Assembly,” he said.
Urhoghide, who chaired the Senate Public Accounts Committee in the 9th Senate, expressed surprise at how Nigerians acted in ignorance about constituency projects.
He said it was normal for some lawmakers to get more funds to execute projects than others.
He noted that allocations for constituency projects are shared by geo-political zones and that lawmakers from zones with more states get less funding compared to their colleagues from zones with fewer states.”
He also said Ningi’s suspension was not new to the parliament, urging Nigerians to stop attaching sentiments to the Senate’s action.
SERAP, dons demand investigation
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) yesterday urged Senate President Akpabio to refer the allegations of budget padding to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution in line “with the lawmakers’ oath of office and the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended).”
In a letter dated March 16, 2024 and signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Rather than suspending Senator Ningi, the Senate ought to have used his allegations as a trigger for addressing the lingering problem of budget padding and corruption in the implementation of constituency projects,” the letter added.
It also asked Akpabio to immediately reinstate Ningi, saying “What Senator Ningi has done is a positive act of good citizenship. No whistleblower should ever be penalised simply for making a public interest disclosure.”
A political analyst and senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Aminu Hayatu, said, “Because the budget padding doesn’t happen without the knowledge of all those in the executive arm, especially in the ministries, departments and other agencies on whose behalf these paddings actually take place,” and because of the involvement of the Senate, the best option is for anti-corruption agencies to take up the investigation.
“To suspend a member of the National Assembly because he blows a whistle about alleged corruption, sends a signal to every other member to be warned that this is not a place where corruption will be exposed.
“This is a wake-up call for our anti-corruption agencies to really do their bit, to do their calling in terms of actually investigating independently of the National Assembly in order to understand what are these issues, where the problem lies, and what is the truth about them.”
CSOs speak on ‘insertion claim’ by lawmakers, executive
Emmanuel Onwubiko, National Coordinator, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), queried: “What do they mean by zonal intervention? Who are the beneficiaries of these interventions, and what exactly are the interventions that justify the indiscriminate sharing of bulk sums of money to senators under the guide of zonal interventions?
“When were these interventions discussed with the constituents, and how did the senators arrive at the exact type of interventions needed by each of the senatorial zones? What the Senate did is simply “budget padding”, which was exposed by one of them,” Onwubiko said.
Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said the Presidency and the National Assembly were expected to vigorously defend “the indefensible aspects of the inflated budget.”
“Furthermore, both levels of governance have taken advantage of the complacency of the people to act with impunity. Otherwise, why would a federal lawmaker have the audacity to claim that a project funded by public money is a personal constituency project?
“What is most concerning, however, is the silence of the once esteemed civil society activists who appear unperturbed by such actions within the National Assembly. Nevertheless, the day of reckoning will inevitably come,” Zikirullahi said.
National Convener, Coalition of Civil Society Network, Adamu Matazu, also noted that the National Assembly is empowered to alter budgets.
“Senator Ningi’s recent allegations of budget padding lack substance and credibility. His claims are devoid of factual evidence and demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of budgetary processes,” he said
Senior Communications Officer at Yiaga Africa, Mark Amaza, said “The practice of constituency projects is one that needs to be overhauled because it not only bloats the budget, but it causes the spending all over the place with seemingly no direction. Not only that, it continues to be controversial.”
Executive Director, CLEEN Foundation, Gad Peter, said “the development clearly is legislative rascality especially that there are people that have been elected; people that only should know the pain, aspiration and help reduce the pressure that Nigerians are going through in terms of poverty, insecurity.
“But you can see that this current budget insertions and all that is the height of insensitivity. And the worst aspect is that they’re not apologetic about it. We hear them saying that they gave every senator about N200 million, and then those that are leaders, either minority leader, majority leader, the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President and all of these other people went with higher amount of money.”
Tunde Salman, the Team Lead/Convener, Good Governance Team Nigeria, said, “Maybe until the issue of constitutionality of padding is defined, the debate about its appropriateness or inappropriateness would linger as some constitutions empower their legislatures to either reduce or increase executive budget proposals.”
The director and co-founder of BudgIT, Oluseun Onigbinde, said the organisation “was not contesting the legitimacy of the insertions into the budget of the national budget. We’re only saying that most of those projects are not geared towards national development.
“And the scale of the insertion is something that we have not seen in recent history. We find that our projects are around N2.2 trillion. In this current environment, where more fiscal tightening is required, it’s a bit of a shocker. Let’s not forget that in previous years, we had delays in the budget process just because of this constant breaking between the executive and the legislature to ensure that the budget signed into law is focused on national development.
Old clip of Obasanjo’s description of N/Assembly trends
Meanwhile, an old clip of former President Olusegun Obasanjo describing the National Assembly as a “den of corruption” resurfaced at the weekend on social media as Nigerians shared their thoughts on the budget padding allegation.
Obasanjo, who spoke in 2016 during the First Akintola Williams Annual Lecture in Lagos, had said: “The National Assembly cabal of today is worse than any cabal that anybody may find anywhere in our national governance system at any time. Members of the National Assembly pay themselves allowances for staff and offices they do not have or maintain.
“Once you’re a member, you’re co-opted and your mouth is stuffed with rottenness and corruption that you cannot opt out as you go home with not less than N15 million a month for a senator and N10 million a month for a member of the House of Representatives.
“Most of them conduct themselves and believe that they are not answerable to anybody. They are blatant in their misbehaviour, cavalier in their misconduct and arrogant in the misuse of parliamentary immunity as a shield against reprisals for their irresponsible acts of malfeasance and/or outright banditry,” he said.
Another video of an event held in 2014 were also being shared across social media. The former president at this event said “Corruption in the National Assembly also includes what they call constituency projects which they give to their agents to execute but invariably, full payment is made with little or no job done.”
Ningi may be reinstated soon- Sources
Sources close to the leadership of the Senate told Daily Trust last night that the allegation of budget padding was a plot to tarnish the image of the National Assembly and distract attention.
One of the sources said the issue, which culminated in Ningi’s suspension “is being resolved amicably.”
He said the suspended senator might be reinstated anytime “if he tenders a public apology to the Senate.”
“I can tell you there is no tension in the Senate. The Senate remains one. The allegation about budget padding is just a ploy to tarnish the image of the senate under Godswill Akpabio who has shown uncommon commitment towards tackling the various challenges confronting the country by fostering effective collaboration with the Executive without jeopardizing the principle of separation of power.
“The N3.7 trillion that was mentioned represents the budget of government owned enterprises (GOEs) and they are expected to come to the Senate to defend their budget because the details are not always in the entire estimate. So, where is the budget padding allegation coming from? The budget was prepared by the executive. The House of Representatives plays more role in scrutinizing the budget and so where’s this allegation coming from if not because some people felt they should be the President of the Senate and not Senator Akpabio.
“There was also the allocation for Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIPs) for members of the National Assembly for their constituencies. The money is not being released to any lawmaker but this is in form of projects for their constituencies”, the lawmaker who did not wish to be name said.
[DailyTrust]
Terrorists on Sunday night kidnapped 87 people after launching a fresh attack on the Kajuru-Station community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
A member of the Kajuru-Station Youths, Harisu Dari, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Monday in Kaduna.
Harisu said the terrorists also broke into some shops and stole food items and other valuables.
He said they invaded the village around 10 pm.
The attack came barely two days after 15 women and a man were abducted in the Dogon-Noma community of the same local government.
Kajuru and Chikun LGs had in the past two weeks become the hotbed of kidnapping, causing tension in the state.
Harisu explained that no contact has been established yet with the 87 locals abducted on Sunday night.
“As of the time I visited the community this morning, security operatives have not been drafted to help restore the confidence of the villagers.
“The villagers are traumatic with the sad development. The government needs to re-strategise in tackling these terrorists,” he said.
PUNCH Online reports that the terrorists had in two weeks kidnapped over 172 villagers.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, did not respond to calls or a text message sent to him by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.
[Punch]
More...
–As subsidy spending hits N17.7bn daily
–Marketers put landing cost above N1,000/litre
–Say independents no longer get products
There are indications that the Federal Government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is now spending N17.72 billion daily to fund subsidy on petrol.
Though still shrouded in secrecy, the funding strategy, Vanguard learnt, is consummated by way of crude sales and direct cost recovery by NNPC.
An executive of a major petroleum marketing company in Lagos told Vanguard that the N17.7 billion subsidy cost represents the difference between landing cost of imported petroleum products and effective wholesale price to petroleum marketers.
An executive of a major petroleum marketing company in Lagos told Vanguard that the N17.7 billion subsidy cost represents the difference between landing cost of imported petroleum products and effective wholesale price to petroleum marketers.
Nigeria imports all the petrol it consumes and according to the Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, daily petrol consumption in the country is around 44.3 million litres.
At current average deport price and exchange rate, the FG through NNPC may be incurring about N531 billion losses or revenue shortfall monthly.
At current average deport price and exchange rate, the FG through NNPC may be incurring about N531 billion losses or revenue shortfall monthly.
This has now been reflected in the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, reports.
The NNPC also deducts this shortfall from its remittances to the Federation Account, but the final distributable balance remains significantly higher than the pre-May 30, 2023 figures due to higher product prices.
The NNPC also deducts this shortfall from its remittances to the Federation Account, but the final distributable balance remains significantly higher than the pre-May 30, 2023 figures due to higher product prices.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on 29th May, 2023, inauguration address declared that subsidies on petrol had ended. His declaration immediately led to a hike in the pump price of fuel to N480 per litre lower limit from N185 per litre. The upper limit was around N560.
Two months later, pump price moved again to over N600 per litre with NNPC Retail dispensing at N617 per litre in Abuja while independents and major marketers sold at N627 per litre. The upper limit in some locations hovered around N680.
Since then, while NNPC-owned stations and affiliates have maintained the N617 per litre rate, prices at the independents and major marketers have soared to N660-N680 per litre. In some states of the Federation the upper limit has gone up to N750.
Two months later, pump price moved again to over N600 per litre with NNPC Retail dispensing at N617 per litre in Abuja while independents and major marketers sold at N627 per litre. The upper limit in some locations hovered around N680.
Since then, while NNPC-owned stations and affiliates have maintained the N617 per litre rate, prices at the independents and major marketers have soared to N660-N680 per litre. In some states of the Federation the upper limit has gone up to N750.
Data clothed in secrecy
Vanguard’s efforts to get Finance Ministry’s official data on petrol import prices were rebuffed while the regular FAAC breakdown of remittances by NNPC has been removed from public communications contrary to the practice a year ago.
Also NNPC declined to release its information on petroleum imports saying that it is now running as a private company, and therefore not obligated to making its trading information public.
Contrary to the position of the FG, petroleum marketers have insisted that the current landing price is above N1,000 per litre, meaning the government was paying the difference.
According to them, the major cost determinant is the exchange rate which had seen the Naira depreciate by almost 200 per cent since the May 29, 2023 declaration.
NNPC Limited remains sole importer of the product as scarcity of foreign exchange killed the euphoria that greeted the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 that provided for deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
The Act was expected to usher in an era of free market in the downstream sector, where marketers will be able to import and sell at competitive prices.
Marketers’ views
Speaking to Vanguard, the immediate past public relations officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said the rise in petrol price is largely driven by the low value of the Naira to the Dollar.
Ukadike pointed out that while crude oil price has remained largely stable in the past one year, the Naira has continued to tumble against the dollar following the decision of President Tinubu to float the currency.
He explained that it is impossible for anyone to claim that the price of petrol has not changed significantly from when the exchange rate was N750/dollar when the subsidy was removed last year to now when the rate has moved to N1,600/dollar.
He explained: “Because NNPC is the sole importer of PMS in this country, it is very difficult for anyone to say for sure the actual cost of importing PMS into the country. Simple mathematics will tell you that the price cannot be the same when a dollar was exchanged for N750 and now that it is N1,600 to a dollar. What this means is that the price is above N1,000 per litre.
“So, the foreign exchange determines the price at the local market and if forex rate has increased, invariably, the landing price of petroleum products has also increased by same magnitude. I don’t know the magic through which they continue to sustain the price of PMS at the same level.”
He disclosed that while NNPC’s portal currently displays that ex-depot price was N566.7 per litre, independent marketers are not able to load at NNPC depots and have had to depend on private depots supplied by NNPC at the cost of N630 per litre.
Also speaking to Vanguard, a major marketer blamed foreign exchange rate for the huge gap existing between the actual market cost of petrol and the pump prices.
The marketer who didn’t wish to be named said government is certainly subsidising petrol at the current rate.
According to the marketer, “The landing cost is determined by the rate of the dollar to Naira. If you have US Dollar at N800, the price will be different if you’re buying at N1,600 for instance. So, it depends on the context. The government has told NNPC: don’t move the price.
“But for the rest of us, if you buy a vessel and you bring that vessel from the mother vessel to the port, it will cost you between $400,000 to $600,000 depending on where you are taking it to. If you are coming to Lagos it will cost about $400,000 but if you’re going to the east, it will cost $600,000. So, it cost about $30 per ton. So, if you are calculating this at N1,600/$ the amount is significantly different. And that informs the difference in pump price at NNPC outlets and the rest of us.
“You must also know that when your vessel gets to the port, NIMASA and NPA charge you in dollars. Everything amounts to $10 per ton. That dollar you cannot see in the banks. It is either you buy from the parallel market or you don’t operate.
“So, if NNPC has continued to sell at the old price, it means that the government has intervened. Which I will not call subsidies”, he explained.
Backing the positions of the marketers, oil and gas governance expert, Mr. Henry Adigun said government is paying over N400 per litre as subsidy.
Adigun explained that the easiest way to know the actual price of petrol “is to look at the price of diesel as both products were of the same value”.
He expressed dissatisfaction over non-release of data by NNPC Limited, adding the company remains publicly-owned and funded by the Nigerian people.
He pointed out that NNPC has become more opaque than it was a few years ago, adding that NNPC is likely paying for the subsidies with proceeds of crude oil sales as it did during the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
Analysts’ comments
Views across financial experts contradict FG’s position on existence of subsidy payment.
According to them, it is obvious that not only has subsidy regime returned, perhaps the amount spent on fuel subsidy is now far more than ever before.
They also believe that government may have decided to carry the subsidy burden for fear of a likely political and social backlash of transmitting the full cost of imported petrol onto the consumers.
But they also expressed worry over what they see as clear violation of the 2024 Appropriation Act which did not provide for subsidy funding.
Why FG was forced back to subsidy– Expert
Speaking to Vanguard on the subsidy controversy, Tunde Abidoye, Head, Equity Research, FBN Securities Limited, stated: “It is quite clear that petrol subsidies have been back for some time, considering: a) that the product is imported; b) there is a substantial import component in the product’s price and; c) the naira exchange rate has been devalued at least twice, first to around N760, and N1,500per USD.
“Industry experts will tell you that the landing cost of the product is already above the current pump price. Also, we can easily determine the real cost reflective price of petrol by bench-marking its price with those of other deregulated fuels like diesel and kerosene.
“According to the last NBS report, the average price of household kerosene was N1,329.5 as at January 2024. Diesel prices averaged N1,153 due in the same period. The real market price of petrol cannot be substantially lower than prices observed for these two other petroleum products. Consequently, it is clear that PMS prices are being subsidized.”
NNPC owes Nigerians transparency — Highcap Securities boss
Reacting, David Adonri, Executive Vice Chairman at Highcap Securities Limited, said: “There might be a merit in the claim by NNPCL that being a private company although a publicly sponsored enterprise, it is not under any obligation to publicly disclose its corporate information.
“However, it remains an entity with very substantial public interest which demands a high level of transparency. It ought to feed the public with necessary information if it does not have anything to hide.
“From the perspective of arithmetic, depreciation of the Naira and continued importation of petroleum products by NNPCL points in the direction of subsidy at current pump price. It is only when petroleum products are produced locally and sold at open market prices by private refiners that subsidy may no longer arise.”
Publish financial statement to bring everything clearer — Kurfi
In his comment, Mallam Garba Kurfi, Chief Executive Offer at ATP Securities & Funds Limited, said: “We are not having any doubt about subsidy existence in petroleum sector. What is the price of diesel now? There is no doubt about fuel subsidy especially when you compared it with the price of diesel which is about N1,300’per litre. As a public company, their financial statement will bring everything clearer when published.”
Subsidy has crept back into the price of petrol — Olayinka
Reacting as well, Tajudeen Olayinka , Analyst/ CEO, Wyoming Capital and Partners, said: “I believe every discerning individual should know that subsidy is back. So far exchange rate is no longer at the level we had it the last time further adjustment was made to petrol prices, it follows therefore that subsidy has crept back into the current price of petrol across the country. I believe government deliberately put further removal of subsidy on pause, to enable the administration address all the socio-economic costs associated with subsidy removal and economic reforms.”
Withholding information undermines public confidence — Egbomeade
In his response, Clifford Egbomeade, Communications experts /economy commentator, said: “Transparency is essential in ensuring public trust and accountability, particularly in a sector as vital as oil and gas. Withholding information on subsidies and fuel distribution costs can undermine public confidence and raise questions about the motives behind such actions.”
Regarding the existence of subsidies on petrol, he said: “The lack of transparency from NNPC makes it challenging to ascertain the current situation definitively. However, given Nigeria’s history of subsidizing fuel prices to stabilise domestic markets and support consumers, it is plausible that some form of subsidy still exists, albeit potentially obscured by the lack of disclosure.”
[Vanguard]
President Vladimir Putin is leading the 2024 Russian presidential election with a landslide.
According to Reuters, exit polls showed that Putin is leading with 88 percent of the votes to trounce Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, who trails with four per cent.
Vladislav Davankov, candidate of the New People’s Party, scored 3.85 percent, while Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) trailed with just 3.1 percent.
Putin, who has been in power since 2000, is set to secure another six-year term that would enable him to become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
After his second tenure ended in 2008, he served as prime minister for another four years before becoming president again in 2012.
Subsequently, the president drafted a constitutional amendment that extended the presidential term from four to six years in Russia.
[TheCable]
That Nigeria’s economy is in bad shape, is no longer news. Food and other necessities are hard to come by.
However, no matter what turn the economy takes, Nigerians, by their unique nature, will always find survival alternatives.
That is why although it sounds unthinkable to see, anywhere in the world, where bamboos are used in place of irons to cast pillars and decking of building constructions, Nigeria has found in convenient.
The high cost of building materials is making many homeowners go for cheap alternatives for construction.
While many Nigerians whose buildings are under construction are abandoning them, waiting for when prices of materials will go down, most frustrated ones are selling off their uncompleted properties to interested buyers.
But others have decided to invent conventional means by replacing iron rods with bamboo.
Economy&Lifestyle discovered that home construction engineers now use bamboo, laced with construction wires to cast decking and pillars of buildings.
Usually, for such buildings, Iron rods are used in these areas to create rigidity and firmness.
Bamboo, a woody plant with hollow stems is in the grass family. It is always used for scaffolding in tall buildings replacing steel irons merged together with screws.
According to Mr. Andrew Asaga, a building engineer, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 10mm, or 8mm iron rods are recommended for building apartments depending on the strength of the material and the designs specified.
He added: “Bamboo can also do the job of an iron rods to an extent.
“Some persons now use only bamboo for the pillars.
“Some mix bamboo with iron rods for the decking to save cost.
“Others now use only bamboo for decking.
“An iron rod costs between N10,000 to N30,000 depending on the size.
“This was twice the price it was sold for last year.
Few weeks ago, a client who wanted to build a bungalow asked that I use bamboo mixed with iron rods to build the pillars because the cost of iron rods has increased.
“He wanted me to construct 8 pillars for the building and would need four 12 mm iron rods for a pillar.
“A ton of 12mm (93 pieces) is now over N1.3 million .
“I don’t know where this country is heading to.”
Mr. Atanaza Godbless, an engineer said: ” Building developers are no longer making profits in the business.
” This is because the cost of building materials are increasing daily.
“When you make a quotation for clients today and they respond next week, you get to the market and discover that the prices of the materials you quoted have increased tremendously.
“You are left with nothing to settle with your workers.
“At the end you see engineers running away leaving workers unpaid.
“And such a person is being labelled bad.
“People are now settling for less alternatives of building materials.
“The cost of iron rods for instance, is making people use bamboo.
“The government is seeing all these and nothing is being done to reduce the cost of building materials.
“The result of these alternatives is having inferior buildings and increased building collapse.”
The strong bonds between concrete and the iron rods ensure stronger constructions as external forces cannot easily break these bonds and the concrete will not slip away from these rods as they are tied together during construction.
Mrs. Fatimetu Momoh, a bamboo seller said the price of a piece of bamboo has also increased from N400 per bamboo to N1500.
She added: “Even used ones now go for N900 which was sold for N200.
“Those supplying the bamboo are complaining of logistics and levies paid on the road.
“This is not something we import. Or do we start importing bamboo? Something we have in our country.
“There is no business that is not frustrated in today’s economy. I pray God will save us from this horrible situation.”
Hardship: Gov Zulum shares food aid to 52,000 families, N100m to 2,000 youth, farmers [PHOTOS]
AFOLABI
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State supervised the distribution of food aid to over 52,000 families in seven local government areas of Southern Borno to alleviate the hardship caused by inflation and the current economic problems bedeviling the country.
The distribution took place on Sunday at the Biu township stadium.
The benefiting local governments include Biu, Shani, Chibok, Askira-Uba, Kwaya Kusar, Bayo and Hawul.
This is as Senator representing Southern Borno, Mohammed Ali Ndume also urged people in the constituency not to sell the food and non -food items donated to them by Governor Zulum, but to use it in cushioning the current economic hardships.
The governor said, “This morning, we are in Biu to provide palliatives to 52,000 vulnerable families in southern Borno. This is in continuation of our efforts to provide food and non-food items to the less privileged in society.
“We have not consistently given food items to people in southern Borno because they are not deeply affected by the insurgency. However, due to the current hike in food prices, the government has decided to come in and support the people with food aid”, the governor added.
“Each beneficiary will collect 25kg bag of rice and 25kg bag of maize,” Governor Zulum stated.
In Biu local government area, 17,000 families each got a bag of rice and a bag of maize grain. 5,000 families benefited from Shani, Bayo, Kwaya Kusar, Chibok and Hawul local government areas, while in Askira-Uba, 10,000 bags of rice and maize were given to Uba and Askira- Emirates.
Distributes N100m to 2,000 youth, women farmers
Meanwhile, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum distributed over N100m to 2,000 youth and women to support them in cultivating their farmlands
Zulum said, “In addition to the food distribution, we are giving out N100m grant to 2,000 beneficiaries, each receiving N50,000. This grant is for them to use in cultivating their farmlands.
“We hope the money will help them in their farming activities”, he stated.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Governor of Borno, Umar Usman Kadafur, who hails from Biu, urged beneficiaries to make good use of the food gesture and grant provided by the governor.
Dont sell palliatives given to you by government – Ndume urges constituents
Senator representing Southern Borno, Mohammed Ali Ndume has urged people in his constituency not to sale food and non -food items donated to them by Governor Babagana Zulum, but to use it in cushioning the current economic hardships.
Ndume who is the Chief Whip at the national assembly commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for given approval of palliatives worth N200 million to each Senator for onward distribution to people in their respective communities.
He noted he has since embarked on distribution of such palliatives to his constituents in order to complement good efforts of Borno State Government under the leadership of Governor Zulum.
His words, ” I want to use this opportunity to thank our Governor for considering the people of Southern Borno under this very difficult and expensive situation. This palliatives is coming at a right time because we are in person of Ramadan Kareem.
“At least, each of the 52,000 beneficiaries will go home with 25kg bags of rice and maize, while 2,000 youths including women were given N50,000 each as empowerment grants by the state government. This is highly commendable.
“Likewise, I thank President Bola Tinubu for supporting each Senator with grains and rice worth N200 million. As you can see Borno has taken the lead in distribution of palliatives more than any state in the whole of the federation, and I want to urge our people to maintain law and order throughout the distribution exercise,” Ndume stated.
In a related development, Governor Zulum unveiled Water projects in Azare, the headquarters of Hawul local government area.
According to the Commissioner Ministry of Water Resources, Engr Tijjani Goni, the Water tank is about 965 liters which would be powered by solar borehole that will distribute water to Azare town and it’s environs