FG Dissolves Advertising Standard Panel For Permitting ‘All Eyes On The Judiciary’ Billboards - Suspends DG, Deputy
AdminThe Federal Government has dissolved the Secretariat of the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP).
The decision is linked to its approval of the billboard titled, ‘All Eyes on The Judiciary’ which allegedly blackmails the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), made the announcement on Tuesday.
Based on the announcement, the director and deputy director of the council have been suspended until the conclusion of an investigation into the matter.
Fadolapo said the advert was approved in error.
He said, “The attention of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeriə [ARCON) has been drawn to the “All Eyes on the Judiciary” advertisements exposed on some billboards across the country. The concepts exposed were not approved by the Advertising Standərds Panel, hence, the Council has directed that all the materials being exposed be brought down immediately and the violators sanctioned.
“The Advertising Standards Panel of the Council also erred in the approval of one of the concepts as the advertisement failed to vet guidelines on the following grounds: The cause forming the central theme of the campaign in the advertisement is a matter pending before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Hence, it’s jus pendis.
“A matter being jus pendis and awaiting judicial pronouncement is, by virtue of the Nigerian legal system, precluded from being a subject of public statement, debate, discussion, advertisement, etc.
“The advertisement is controversial and capable of instigating public unrest and breach of public peace.
“The advertisement is considered blackmail against the Nigerian Judiciary, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, and particularly the Honourable Justices of the Tribunal who are expected to discharge their judicial functions without fear or favour over a matter that is currently jus pendis.”
According to him, the Council would set up a committee to investigate the approval of the billboard.
“Consequently, the Director and Deputy Director, Regulations have also been suspended. The suspension is to enable an unprejudiced investigation of the issue. The Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) Secretariat failing to diligently exercise its function as the gatekeeper of advertising, advertisement, and marketing communications is hereby dissolved,” he added.
The University of Ibadan on Monday directed that work days be reduced from five to three for every worker in the school.
This, according to the university management, is following the astronomical increase in fuel pump prices.
This was revealed in a statement issued by the institution dated August 14, 2023, and signed by G.O. Saliu, Registrar and Secretary to Council.
The statement said, “The astronomical increase in the fuel pump price occasioned by the removal of subsidy by the Federal Government has imposed huge economic difficulties on the generality of Nigerians.
“Salary earners who have to commute to work every working day are faced with an aggravation of the condition, given the attendant hike in the transport fare and cost of living.
“After careful consideration of the situation, the University Management recommended a temporary work schedule adjustment for members of staff, which Senate at its meeting of Thursday, 03 August 2023 considered and approved.
“Accordingly, members of staff are now expected to work on-site for three (3) days in rotation per week, with effect from Monday, 14 August 2073. “It should, however, be noted that those on essential duties are exempted from this adjustment.
“It should be further noted that Management will review the arrangement as the situation improves. Meanwhile, members of staff are to maintain commitment, open communication, and cooperation towards ensuring free workflow, including working from home where and when necessary.
“In light of the foregoing, management seeks the understanding of all Deans, Directors, Heads of Departments and Units towards a smooth implementation of the intervention.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is poised to reverse the slide of the naira as it has lined up intervention measures that will be unveiled in the next few days.
The acting governor of the apex bank, Folashodun Shonubi, gave the hint to correspondents on Monday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa, Abuja.
He warned that the government will come down hard on those involved in underhand undertaking in the foreign exchange market, including the parallel market.
Shonubi affirmed that the president is concerned about the development in the market and its effect on the people, saying that he discussed what could be done to stabilize the naira with the president.
The acting CBN boss noted that the changes going on in the parallel market are not dictated by demands but by speculative attitude.
He warned that the speculators will suffer huge losses soon after the government activates its strategies.
He said: “Mr President is very concerned about some of the goings on in the foreign exchange market.
“One of the things we discussed is what could be done to stabilize and what could be done to improve the liquidity in the market and also the goings on in the various other markets, including the parallel market.
“He’s concerned about its impact on the average person, since, unfortunately, a lot of activities that we do, which are purely local, are still referenced to exchange rates in the parallel market.
“We’ve discussed and I’ve shared with him what we’re doing to improve supply.
“If you look at the official market, you’ll find that that market has been fairly stable and the spreads of the difference have not fluctuated as much.
“We do not believe that the changes going on in the parallel market are driven by pure economic demand and supply, but are touched by speculative demand from people.
“Some of the plans and strategies, which I’m not at liberty to share with you, means sooner rather than later, the speculators should be careful because we believe the things we’re doing, when they come to fruition, may result in significant losses to them.
“But my presence here is more about the concerns the President has and his needs to know that we are doing something about it, assurances of which I have given him totally.
“So I hope this helps. We are looking at it and we’re doing things which will significantly impact the market in a few days time and we will all see it.
“The intention is to ensure the environment operates at a level that’s more efficient, but also that is also very reasonable and does not have a negative impact to the best that we can on the lives of the average person. Thank you very much.”
Nigeria’s former External Affairs Minister and Professor of political science, Bolaji Akinyemi, has said that Coups are motivated by bad governance.
Prof Bolaji Akinyemi stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on the backdrop of the ongoing military takeover in Niger Republic.
He said, “Coups have been motivated by bad governance. Not only bad governance, there is something that has crept into the language of political scientists, which is called civilian coups.
“This is when you have the sitting president who manipulates the constitution for term elongation. Some even scrapped the concept of term limitation.
“The Central African Republic has done so, having completed the regulation two terms he now introduced a new constitutional amendment having seven years starting with him.
“He removed members of the supreme court and assembled new judges and called on his people to have a referendum. His people adopted the referendum. This is a civilian coup, which deserves to be condemned.
“President of Senegal toyed with the idea of term elongation until when people poured into streets and got killed, property destroyed. He then backed. Even when they keep within the term, the corruption is so endemic that politicians get pats, while the people lose weight. The devastating state of our economies in Africa, we don’t deserve that because of our resources.”
The People’s Democratic Party in Ondo state, has said that Nigerians who voted for President Bola Tinubu, are now regretting wasting their votes.
It’s chairman, Fatai Adams, said in a statement issued and signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, Akure, that the few months of the president has brought untold hardship to Nigerians.
Adams who was reacting to the Ondo state chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress in the state, Ade Adetimehin, who said that the PDP has gone into extinction.
He said that rather it was the APC and its inhuman government that is responsible for Nigerians suffering and agony of the last eight years.
According to him ” Adetimehin is probably the only person who is oblivious of the fact that, Ondo State people hold his party, APC and its inhuman government responsible for their suffering and agony of the last eight years.
Adams, added that “especially the withdrawal of fuel subsidy and its biting effect on everybody.
“He does not realise that, even those who were tricked to vote APC in the 2023 general elections are already regretting and lamenting their miscalculation that has brought about untold hardship on them and their families.
“Such a man, if he has any sense of shame and responsibility should have been on his knees begging the people for the huge misfortune masterminded by his party.
” To now open his mouth in a most careless manner to say “PDP is now extinct” is not only laughable but mischief of the highest order.
Reacting to the defection of its members to the ruling party in the state, Adams said that “Majority of the 203 Councilors Adetimehin is celebrating for joining his party have not been active in the last two cycles of elections in Ondo State.
“A few of them have been in the APC since 2016. How the defection of such characters translates to PDP being extinct can only be understood by someone like Adetimehin who is presiding over a dangerously fragmented APC in the State but deludes himself with fun-seeking decampees who tell him tales by moonlight.
“The PDP in Ondo State is unruffled by a few persons who are in a self-destruct misadventure in Adetimehin’s sinking APC ship.
“While we sympathise with such persons, it is pathetic that those who should be weeping are dancing and rejoicing.
” But in no distant time, reality will dawn on them that, indeed, they lived a lie all along.
The party chairman declared that ” PDP cannot be extinct, there are no such signs. And it will never be.
Files fresh charges against Emefiele
The Federal Government on Tuesday applied to withdraw the “illegal possession of firearms” case it filed against the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar, in an oral application, told Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State that the application followed the result of further investigations.
But, Emefiele’s counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Daudu, opposed the application, insisting that the government must first purge itself of the disobedience of the court’s order granting Emefiele bail before its application could be taken.
Justice Oweibo has adjourned till Thursday, August 17, 2023, to rule on the application.
Speaking to newsmen, the DPP said a fresh 20 counts have been filed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
One of the counts, he said, accused Emefiele of “conferring unlawful advantages”.
Advertising regulatory council orders nationwide destruction of ‘All eyes on the judiciary’ billboards
Adminhe Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has ordered the immediate nationwide destruction of billboards bearing “All eyes on the judiciary”.
Olalekan Fadolape, Director General of ARCON, gave the directive in a statement obtained by Peoples Gazette on Tuesday.
“The concept exposed were not approved by the Advertising Standards Panel, hence, the Council has directed that all materials being exposed be brought down immediately and the violators’ sanctioned,” Mr Fadolape said.
The statement is coming amid anxiety as Nigerians await the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).
The five-member panel of the PEPT in Abuja, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, had reserved its judgement on the petitions filed by the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, against President Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general election.
The Tribunal, however, has until September 16 to deliver the judgment on the petitions before it.
Mr Fadolape said the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) failed in the approval of one of the concepts as the advertisement failed to meet ARCON’s guidelines.
He explained that the cause forming the central theme of the campaign in the advertisement was a matter pending before the PEPT and was “controversial and capable of instigating public unrest and breach of public peace.”
He added that “The advertisement is considered a blackmail against the Nigerian Judiciary, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and particularly the Honourable Justices of the Tribunal who are expected to discharge their judiciary functions without fear or favour over a matter that is currently jus pendis.”
Mr Fadolape, however, ordered the dissolution of the ASP secretariate for failing to diligently exercise its functions as the gatekeeper of advertising, advertisement and marketing communication.
Nigeria’s inflation surged to 24.08% in the month of July 2023, a 129 basis-point increase compared to 22.79% recorded in the previous month. This represents the sixth consecutive increase in the headline index this year.
This is according to the recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July 2023 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The significant jump is following the complete removal of petrol subsidies and the unification/devaluation of the official exchange rate. Notably, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate stood at 2.89% in July which was 0.76% higher than the rate recorded in June 2023 (2.13%).
In terms of contribution to the year-on-year inflation, Food and non-alcoholic beverages (12.47%) contributed the most, followed by housing water, electricity, gas and other fuel (4.03%), and clothing and footwear (1.84%).
Food inflation
The Food inflation rate rose to 26.98% in July 2023, representing a 1.73% point increase from 25.25% recorded in the previous month and 4.97% points higher than 22.02% recorded in the corresponding period of 2022.
- On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in July 2023 was 3.45%, this was 1.06% higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023 (2.4%).
- The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve-month ending July 2023 over the previous twelve-month average was 24.46%, which was a 5.71% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in July 2022 (18.75%).
- The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fruits, meat, vegetable, milk, cheese, and eggs.
Core inflation
The “All items less farm produce” or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 20.47% in July 2023 on a year-on-year basis; up by 4.41% when compared to the 16.06% recorded in July 2022.
- On a month-on-month basis, the Core inflation rate was 2.11% in July 2023. It stood at 1.77% in June 2023, up by 0.34%.
- The average twelve-month annual inflation rate was 18.84% for the twelve-month ending July 2023; this was 4.31% points higher than the 14.53% recorded in July 2022.
- The highest increases were recorded in prices of passenger transport by air, passenger transport by road, vehicle spare parts, medical services, maintenance, and repair of personal transport equipment.
S'East Insecurity: Simon Ekpa Writes Embassies In Nigeria Asks Them To Deny Ifeanyi Ejiofor Visa
AdminSimon Ekpa, a popular Biafra agitator and Separatist, has advised foreign Embassies in Nigeria not to grant Ifeanyi Ejiofor a visa over insecurity in the southeast.
Ekpa, the Finland-based lawyer and Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government disclosed this in a letter made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday.
According to him, Ejiofor should be held responsible for insecurity in the southeast region.
“To All Foreign Embassies Operating in Nigeria Ref: Barr. IFEANYI EJIOFOR AND FAMILY. We wish to inform all foreign embassies operating in Nigeria that Barr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor is planning to come to any of your embassies to seek visas for himself and his family to travel out of Nigeria.
“His intention is not to go for tourism or the like. Ifeanyi Ejiofor is a fugitive running away from Nigeria. He intends to seek asylum on arrival on the soil of any country that grants him entrance.
“Ifeanyi Ejiofor is the source and progenitor of the insecurity in Biafra Land -southeast of Nigeria, in conjunction with his other allies.
“Biafra Land- southeast of Nigeria, today is witnessing a complete breakdown of law and other, characterized by extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, arsons, terrorism and flagrant abuse of human rights”, the letter reads.
- Police Confirms Arrest of 8, Recovery of Arms, Ammunition
- Warns Against Spread of Distorted Views on Operations
Following receipt of a petition from a law firm on the activities of some hoodlums armed with guns and other dangerous weapons who were in the habit of constantly and repeatedly terrorizing members of Nembe Bassambiri Community in Bayelsa State, and coupled with other similar complaints and intelligence in that region, operatives of the Police Strike Force were deployed to the area for a combing operation to rid the community of the activities of armed hoodlums.
Consequently, the operatives swung into action and raided the camps of the hoodlums in and around the Nembe Bassambiri Community on the eve of Saturday 12th August, 2023. The operation led to the arrest of Eight (8) suspects including Gift Vanman, Daniel Solomon, Ishmael Teknikio aka Moore, Rufus Itario, Joel Jubilee, Sylvanus Alatari, Sounpre Solomon, and Ayebanate Talbot (POS). Items recovered include 3 AK-47 Rifles, 2 pump action guns, 1 LAR rifle, 1 jack-knife, 1 dagger, magazines, 104 rounds of live ammunition of various calibres, 2 POS machines, 10 ATM Cards, and 1 rechargeable bulb.
The Police wish to state in clear terms that the operation was carried out by a combined team of police operatives to sanitize the community, and the officers were professional, neutral, and proactive in the mission to liberate members of the community from the terror instilled by the nefarious activities of the armed hoodlums as the Force will not allow lawlessness or gross violations of the laws in any part of the country. This is contrary to the distorted narrative in the news making the rounds that the community was attacked by hoodlums dressed in police uniforms. The distorted news is clearly the handiwork of mischief makers and they are hereby warned against such calculated attempts to destabilize the country.
It is also pertinent to send out a warning to all recalcitrant members of the society whose stock-in-trade is instilling fear into law-abiding members of the public and fomenting troubles across the country, to desist from such as the police will leave no stone unturned in the bid to rid our societies of hooliganism, terrorism, and gross violation of extant laws.
The Nigeria Police Force hereby reassures Nigerians of the unwavering commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to attend to security issues affecting them by acting promptly on intelligence to curb such acts in any part of the country. Similarly, the Police assures the confidentiality of reliable informants while urging members of the public to partner with the Police and other security agencies with prompt and actionable intelligence on the activities of members of the underworld, and criminally-minded individuals, who foment troubles, commit crimes, and cause instability.
The IGP reiterates that the operation in Nembe is a signal to other hoodlums with similar intents of causing fear amongst the people with their activities across the country to turn a new leaf or be assured that the long and unbiased arm of the law will catch up with them in no distant time.
The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
ACP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI, mnipr, mipra,
Force Public Relations Officer,
Force Headquarters,
Abuja.
More...
Nigeria’s currency has continued to experience free-fall against the Dollar two months after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s floating of Naira, a decision that has further worsened the woes of Africa’s largest economy.
From 14 June, when CBN liberalized the forex market, till date, the country’s currency has continued to slump against the Dollar from N750/$1 at the parallel market known as a black market to N950/$1 on Monday, August 14, 2023.
The situation became more worrisome as the gap between the official window and the parallel market widened with a differential of N181, defeating the essence of CBN’s floating of the Naira.
The ongoing probe of the apex bank by a special investigator, Jim Obazee, appointed by President Bola Ahmed, may have worsened the depreciation of the Naira, according to experts familiar with the sector.
Details from the CBN’s seven years consolidated financial statements released last week showed a combined indebtedness of $7.5 billion to JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, with a foreign reserve of $33.88 billion. This is part of the reasons the forex crisis has lingered, Prof Uche Uwaleke, an economist stated.
But the Acting CBN governor, Folashodun Shonubi, blamed undocumented forex remittance and the unregulated parallel market for the woes in the sector.
Consequently, the country’s economy, which heavily depends on fuel, continues to bleed from the forex crisis.
For instance, the oil marketers have dropped a hint of a further hike in petrol pump prices as a reflection of the soaring price of the Dollar.
That would affect the masses still struggling to cope with July’s fuel increment occasioned by petrol subsidy removal since June.
Speaking with DAILY POST exclusively on Monday, the president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe said its members cannot be blamed for the ongoing crisis in the forex market.
He blamed the prevalence of unlicensed online platforms operating in different jurisdictions without standardized regulations capturing diaspora remittances and denying the official market.
According to him, the recent happenings in the sector had further brought the need for CBN to have its members pick up agents of diaspora remittances to block loopholes and stymie the forex crisis.
“The revelation of the apex bank on diversion of diaspora remittance has vindicated our long-time advocacy to make BDCs pick up agents of diaspora remittances to block the loopholes that the CBN is bringing to the forefront.
“To make diaspora remittance inflows into the official market, the BDCs should be made the sole agents of diaspora remittances and break the monopoly of the agency of the international money transfer operators.
“What we have now is the prevalence of unlicensed online application platforms and fintech that operate in different jurisdictions without standardized regulation capturing diaspora remittances and denying the official market”, he stated.
Also, Idakolo Gbolade, Chief Executive Officer of SD & D Capital Management, said the continued Naira decline could be attributed to the reduction in forex inflows into the economy, resulting in foreign currency scarcity.
He stated that major oil companies, establishments and commercial banks contributed significantly to the forex crisis by encouraging increased scarcity for their benefits and profitability.
Gbolade urged that the government must urgently pursue policies that halt further deterioration in the sector.
“The Naira’s continuous decline can be mainly attributed to reduced forex inflows into the economy, which has led to the scarcity of foreign currencies and has put pressure on existing reserves. These pressures, combined with our debt obligations, have led to reduced foreign reserves.
“The cooperation of major forex revenue contributors like the oil majors and commercial banks are also suspect because they have encouraged increased arbitrage in the foreign exchange for their benefit and profitability.
“The federal government needs to critically examine the policy and ensure that the CBN monitors the implementation of the policy.
“This uncertainty in this sector has contributed to rising inflation and rising high cost of living,” he stated.
The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, says the examination body has done nothing untoward or illegal with his recent recruitment exercise.
The JAMB helmsman defended the decision of the board to employ 300 staff without advertising the positions.
Professor Oloyede, who appeared before the House of Representatives on Monday, said the decision was to fill vacancies created due to retirement.
The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee is investigating employment racketeering by Ministries, Departments and Agencies and mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Meanwhile, the committee also observed that 14 individuals at the Federal Character Commission (FCC) received salaries through IPPIS without being placed in any federal government agencies.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, the Edo State capital, has affirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
This was contained in a statement issued Monday evening by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh.
The case with No: CA/B/93/2023, which was filed by Mr. Lucky Shaibu against Abure and five others, was dismissed after a unanimous decision by Justice Abadua, Fatima Akinbami and Sybil O. Nwaka-Gbagi.
The plaintiff, Shauibu who was a member of the Labour Party Executive in Ward 3 in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State, had allegedly suspended the chairman of the Labour Party.
However, in his lead judgment, Justice Abadua affirmed the decision of the High Court of Edo State and held that one man cannot suspend the national chairman of LP in line with Articles 13 and 17 of the Constitution of the Party and the extant Electoral Act of 2022.
Abure, in his reaction to the judgment, hailed the courageous judges of the appellate court, Benin, for refusing to close their eyes to the justice of the case, while commending his legal team, led by G.C. Igbokwe, SAN, for a job well done.
Igbokwe described the judgment as sound, courageous and unimpeachable while stating that in line with the judgment, Abure remained the national chairman of LP, until the party would hold its convention.
No fewer than 21 military personnel including senior officers were reportedly killed by the suspected bandits at Kundu via Zungeru in the Wushishi Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger state.
It was gathered that 13 of them were killed in an encounter on Sunday, while eight others were killed on Monday in an ambush in which a captain and a major were reportedly involved.
According to reports, the security operatives were trying to block the Kundu route of the criminals who were about to cross with some rustled cattle when they were ambushed, leading to the casualties including five vigilantes who were injured with bullets.
It was reliably gathered that the bandits had rustled several animals from several communities and tried to cross from Akere to the northern parts of the country.
An eyewitness told Channels Television that the corpses of the 21 military personnel were deposited at the same Zungeru hospital where the injured vigilante group were receiving medical treatment.
An injured vigilante, Sani Adamu, in a phone interview, said they had a gun battle within a range of less than 100m but they were challenged because the criminals’ weapons were more sophisticated than theirs, leading to casualties.