Senator-elect representing Ogun east district, Otunba Gbenga, has hailed President Bola Tinubu for his courage and the political will to declare the petroleum subsidy regime over.
Dainel noted that Tinubu was the only President, who was “bold enough” to stop the petrol subsidy regime.
The former governor of Ogun state stated this while speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday.
Recall that, during his inaugural speech as president, Tinubu had declared that the “fuel subsidy is gone,” adding that there is no provision for it in the budget beyond June 2023.
He said, “Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources.
“We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.”
Speaking Tinubu’s announcement on the fuel subsidy, Daniel said the subsidy regime had become unsustainable, adding that “everybody” is aware of the fact.
He said the subsidy is not just for Nigerians, noting that petroleum products are illegally smuggled to neighbouring West African countries.
Daniel said, “The thing I want our people to appreciate is that everybody has come to appreciate that the subsidy was not sustainable. But nobody was bold enough. And even the outgoing president said it would go after he had left.
“And somebody has come and said, let us stop deceiving ourselves. Another thing I have noticed, and many people have not spoken about, is that the biggest problem with the subsidy is that we are not just subsidising Nigerians but West Africa.
“And I do not see how that is sustainable anyway. And if there is no way of ensuring it stays within the shores of Nigeria then, which is also part of the problem of smuggling, then clearly, we cannot continue to subsidise the entire West African sub-region. We do not have such capacity.”
Since the announcement of the fuel subsidy, queues for petrol have greeted many parts of the country.
In Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja, it was observed that some filling stations were closed, while those that dispensed petrol had large queues of customers lining up for the commodity.
The situation has generated mixed reactions from stakeholders and citizens across the country.
[Vanguard]
Governor Charles Soludo’s government says plans are underway to unveil an electronic identity card (e-ID) for civil servants and other government employees in Anambra.
Chukwuemeka Agbata, the managing director of the Anambra State ICT Agency, in a statement on Thursday, said the innovation was in line with Mr Soludo’s determination to digitise the state and its workforce.
“The unveiling will be a historic event and testament to the visionary leadership of Governor Soludo in accordance with his mantra of ‘Everything technology and technology everywhere’,” the Anambra government said in the statement.
It added, “The e-ID card will strengthen identity management in the state by enabling government and citizens alike to easily identify government employees.”
The Anambra government also mentioned that it would “also successfully address the current issue of the state’s lack of a standardised and secure method for issuing and confirming ID cards and their holders.”
(NAN)
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has identified 56 rogue website operators that leaked its West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
The Head of National Office, Nigeria (HNO) Mr Patrick Areghan, made this known on Thursday in Abuja while monitoring of the examination in some Government Secondary Schools.
Areghan said that the identified rogue website operators would be prosecuted by the police in due course.
According to him, some dubious supervisors are responsible for some of these malpractices during examinations.
”We have a regulation to release papers to supervisors one hour before commencement time to enable them go from collection point to the administrative point because of distance in some schools.
”But what they do is to snap the question papers and send to their syndicate groups. You now begin to as questions what they are trying to achieve with it.
”Candidates are already in the exam hall and you are posting the questions. Sometimes, they change the front of the questions and add 2023 for exam questions of 2020.
” Some gullible parents and students will go for it and destroy themselves because there is no way they can get our questions,” he said.
The WAEC head said that the council had put in place technology to detect any form of maleficence from any location.
” I am happy to announce that so far in this exam, we have made a lot of arrest. We made arrests in Ibadan, Maiduguri, Abeokuta, Osogbo, Umuahia and many other states.
” In all, we have made arrest of no fewer than 15 persons comprising candidates, supervisors, school proprietor and other connected with the malpractices.
”Supervisor are our problems, they make a lot of money from this. The exam is taking place in over 21,000 secondary schools in Nigeria with only 2,000 staff strength, how many centres are we going to man?
”These supervisors are teachers given to us by state ministries of education and when they come, they make it a business.
”We are not in control of social media, small boys post questions for advertisement and ask candidates to subscribe on their websites and then they give them fake questions,” he added.
He, therefore appealed to candidates, teachers and parents to maintain the ethics of examination to have a good and sound educational system saying that all hands must be on deck to fight the monsters called examination malpractices.
Also, the WAEC Board Chair, Hajiya Binta Abdulkadri, expressed worry with the involvement of school principals in the exam malpractices.
Abdulkadri, who is also the Director, Senior Secondary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, commended the council for the deployment of technology to nap perpetrators of examination malpractice.
Meanwhile, the principal, Government Secondary School, Kubwa, Mr Musa Zuru commended the progress made by WAEC saying that schools in FCT operate zero tolerance for examination malpractice and urged other schools to key in.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 1,621,895 candidates are sitting for the examinations across the country in over 21,000 secondary schools.
(NAN)
The photos have raised eyebrows on social media as netizens especially Asake’s fans show curiosity to know who she is to the singer.
Viral photos captured the young girl posing beside the singer with Asake grinning widely and excitedly.
The photos were shared by @enoch_xxx on Twitter with the caption:
“Who is she? she’s always with Asake. wherever he goes, she goes.”
Reacting to the post, Adedeji said: “That’s Ololade na. Una nor dey hear when she dey always talk; “Ololade mi Asake” before the start of Asake’s album. Na d girl wey dey talk am be that. You’re welcome!”
Colynx wrote: “Well people might say she’s his manager or girlfriend, but she’s actually his mother.”
Faizn said:”That’s Asabi she’s the one always saying “ololade mi Asake” in the songs.”
Yong Prince added: “Maybe his money managing director (mr money with the vibes and mrs money with the statistics and management idea) Just a guess oo.”
See the post below:
This is coming shortly after a lady expressed regrets for once turning down the advances of the fast-rising singer, Asake, after making a name for himself.
Her lamentation began after the singer’s album outshined other songs on the Naija Top 100 Apple Music chart.
Taking to the micro-blogging platform, Twitter, the embattled lady identified as Marbella Spice shared a chat of herself with Asake requesting her contact.
Unfortunately for Marbella, she rejected the advances of Asake, alongside declining the request to share her contact with him.
Regretting the decision, she wrote in a tweet while sharing the snapshot of the chat, “Shebi I for don give am my number ?? we would have still been friends even if I wasn’t interested.”
[tooxclusive]
.. Says Marketers Will Have Access To Foreign Exchange At CBN Rate
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari has said that the new price of Premium Motor Spirit popularly called fuel will crash very soon as the subsidy removal will trigger more entrants into the importation of refined products.
The GCEO made the explanation in an interview on Arise TV following the ripple effect of the jump in prices of PMS which was triggered by the removal of fuel subsidy in Africa’s biggest economy.
Nigeria spends around N400bn monthly and around N4.8trn yearly, a gesture which has been described as unstainable.
President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration on May 29 announced that the Federal Government will no longer pay subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit.
Consequently, the NNPC Ltd adjusted the prices upward from between N189 to N194 to N537 per litre in Abuja and other North-Central States such as Nasarawa, Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Benue and Niger.
In Lagos and other South West States such as Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Osun, the price of PMS was raised from between N184 and N189 per litre to between N488 and N500 per litre.
In the South-East with states: Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi, the price was increased from between N184 and N189 per litre to N515 to N520.
In market response to the new prices, there has been a surge in the cost of transportation and other products across the country.
Kyari said the subsidy was supposed to end in February 2022 but due to hardship, the government provided for subsidy in 2022 and extended it to the first half of 2023.
According to him, the government did not fund the subsidy rather the NNPCL had to bear the burden which has become unsustainable.
He said, “The prices we are seeing today at our station is the current market price of the commodity. What this means is that prices in the market can go down at any time and of course the market will adjust itself.
“The beauty of this is that there will be new entrants. Oil marketing companies have been reluctant to come into the market because there was a subsidy regime in place. And that subsidy regime does not have a guarantee of the payment of those who provide the product at subsidize prices.
“But now that the market regulates itself, oil marketing companies can actually import products or even it is produced locally they can buy and take into the market and sell it at their commercial prices.
“Therefore, you will see competition even with NNPCL. By the way, by law, NNPCL cannot do more than 30 per cent of the market going forward. As soon as the market stabilizes, oil marketers begin to come in, which means that competition will surely come in and definitely the market will regulate the price itself.
“This is just an instantaneous price, in a week or two you will continue to see adjustments in different approaches. Competition will guide that but ultimately, you will see changes in price downwards and that is potentially very likely because efficiency will come in. Mind you, as we speak now, every burden of inefficiency, in the system from the marine all the way to fuel stations including oil marketing companies is borne by the subsidy regime but as soon as competition comes in, people will become more efficient in their depots, in managing their trucks so that people can come to their stations.
“This will regulate the market and the price on it will come down naturally and I don’t see any doubt about this. It is not a fixed price and we are not announcing any price. All we did was to see variable prices in our costs by location and by the realities around us and knowing fully well that the NNPC is the single supplier of the market today and we are seeing that exit coming up very quickly.
“There will be no monopoly, NNPCL will no longer be the only supplier of this product alone and therefore we see the comfort for the consumer and the moderation will come.”
Kyari also revealed that there are talks in place to enable marketers to access foreign exchange at the Central Bank of Nigeria rate in order to provide for fair play and competition.
He said, “I’m sure you must have heard what Mr. President said about exchange rate normalisation and that will simply mean a single exchange rate market for everyone. As we speak today, the NNPCL uses the official exchange rate which of course will now be subjected to the stabilisation of the FX that will be created by the announcement of Mr. President.
“Once that happens, everybody including the NNPCL will access the FX at the same exchange rate and of course you will see a gradual exit of the NNPC in the official exchange rate and of course, there will be a single market rate in which NNPCL will be subject to. So, I don’t see any conflict of the pricing of the FX going forward.”
He pointed out that even if the naira is adjusted above the N460 CBN rate, prices would still be moderated
He added, “I do not think so because this situation will also regulate consumption, Mind you, when you have higher prices, it will wage your consumption and that means the volume of the product you are going to require will come down. My estimate is at least 30 per cent of the volume of consumption will come down.
“I have continually said that there is no verifiable data today on the level of consumption in this country but we know our level of evacuation and that evacuation number will come down by 30 per cent and it also means a collateral decrease in the requirement of FX in the market.
“Therefore, the same source of FX that NNPCL has access to, all players in the market will also have access to it.
“I’m aware of ongoing engagements to ensure that everyone has access to the market that is the single window market. Once that happens, you will not see any spiral or significant change in prices. I do not see any fears around exchange rate impact on the price of PMS.”
Court Slams DG Arts Gallery With N1m Fine, Orders Promotion, Payment Of 1-Year Salary Arrears To Staff Member
AdminThe National Industrial Court has ordered the the National Gallery of Arts, its management board and Director General, Mr Ebeten Ivara, to forthwith release the promotion of Mr. Adesoji Adewunmi to Assistant Director on grade level 15.
The court also ordered the management to pay Adesoji his salary from May 2022 to date together with arrears of his promotion reading from January 1st, 2022.
In court documents seen by THE WHISTLER, the claimant’s lawyer, Anthony Itedjere had in 2022 asked the court to determine whether the DG had the discretion and constitutional powers to withhold his promotion letter since 2022 after the management board had approved his promotion from grade 14 to grade 15 with effect from January 2022.
According to the lawyer, the DG withdrew his client’s promotion letter on the allegation that he was involved in examination malpractice during the promotion examination held in September 2021.
The lawyer further alleged that the DG’s claim of examination malpractice was not true because based on global best practices in public institutions, a query ought to have been issued to his client immediately after the examination.
He added that no query was made available to his client since then till now, adding that the promotion letter remained withdrawn while the claimant was deployed to work under a junior colleague.
On their part, the respondents urged the court to decline jurisdiction on the application.
They maintained that the suit was speculative and amounts to abuse of court process.
Justice O.Y. Anuwe, in his judgment on May 25, held that the evidence or exhibits provided by the claimant substantiates his claim that his promotion was approved but was yet to be released or effected.
The court also held that affidavit evidence shows that the claimant’s salary was stopped since mid-2022.
On the respondents’ argument that the suit amounts to abuse of court process, the judge dismissed it, holding that a person or staff has a right to bring his grievance to court.
Subsequently, the court ordered the restoration of the claimant’s promotion while approving his full salary among other financial benefits.
The order partly reads,” It is declared that due process as provided in the Section 36 of 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and the Public Service Rules was not observed by the Defendants by withholding the promotion letter of the Claimant since March 2022 and his salary from May 2022 and all such actions are therefore unlawful, illegal, null, void and of no legal consequence.
“It is declared that by virtue of Section 36 of 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and the Public Service Rules, the Defendants lack the vires to withhold the full monthly salary of the Claimant from May 2022 and same is therefore unlawful, illegal, null, void and of no legal consequence.
“It is declared that the withholding of the Claimant’s promotion letter since 1st March 2022 and full Monthly Salary from May 2022 despite the approval and recommendation of promotion of the Claimant by the 2nd Defendant is a violation of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and the Public Service Rules and same is null, void and of no legal consequence.
“An order is made setting aside the withholding of the Claimant’s promotion letter dated 1st March 2022 and his full monthly Salary from May 2022.
“An order is made directing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants to jointly pay the sum of N1,000,000 only to the Claimant as general damages for the instability they have caused the Claimant.
“An order is made directing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants to forthwith release the promotion letter of the Claimant to Assistant Director on grade level 15 to him and to pay him his salary from May 2022 together with arrears of his promotion from 1st January, 2021.”
The House of Representatives on Thursday unveiled plans to probe the circumstances surrounding the launch of the national carrier, Nigeria Air initiated at the twilight of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Worries by the public outcry trailing the exercise, the lawmakers demanded relevant documents such as all Private, Public Partnership (PPP) agreements reached and signed with Ethiopian Airlines on the project and all PPP agreements reached and signed with other parties with stakes in Nigeria Air as well as all documents, permits and receipts relevant to the subject matter.
The House also requested documents on full disclosure of the ownership structure of Nigeria Air including equity contributions by individuals, organisations and the consortium outlining each contribution, names, addresses, phone numbers and their businesses’ registration certificates.
To this end, Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji has
summoned the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Dr Emmanuel Meribole to an emergency meeting over the Nigeria Air project.
The emergency meeting, according to an invitation for the meeting signed by the Committee Clerk, Bassey E. Edem dated May 30, 2023, and referenced NASS/9/HR17/120, the Permanent Secretary was directed to come with every document and personnel connected with the national carrier.
Extract from the invitation reads: “Last Friday, the 26th of May, 2023, the nation was awash with viral reports and videos of the unveiling of the Nigeria Air project under very controversial circumstances, as a committee of the parliament saddled with the responsibility of over-sighting the aviation sector of the economy we deem it necessary to be fully briefed about the project.
“Consequently l am directed to invite you to an emergency session with the committee on Thursday, first of June 2023. You are to come with all individuals/agencies connected to the project.”
However, the Permanent Secretary was said to have requested time to be able to assemble all the necessary documents and individuals connected with the project.
Meanwhile, Tuesday 7th June has been rescheduled for the meeting based on the appeals for time by the Ministry.
Details of the documents demanded in the invitation include the followings; Full business case (FBC,) as prepared by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC); Full disclosure on the ownership structure of Nigeria Air including equity contributions by individuals, organisations and consortium outlining each contribution, names, addresses, phone numbers and their businesses’ registration certificates.
Others include all Private, Public Partnership, (PPP) agreements reached and signed with Ethiopian Airlines on the project and all Private Public partnership agreements reached and signed with other parties with stakes in Nigeria Air as well as all documents, permits and receipts relevant to the subject matter.
The Permanent Secretary is also expected to provide documents on the Shareholders’ agreements; Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) agreement and any other documents that will assist the committee in this assignment.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that the retail price of refilling a 5kg gas cylinder has soared by 0.69 per cent in April.
According to data released by the agency in May, the price increased from N4,610.48 recorded in March to N4,642.27 in April, 2023.
“The average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.69% on a month-on-month basis from N4,610.48 recorded in March 2023 to N4,642.27 in April 2023. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 22.15% from N3,800.47 in April 2022.
According to the report, it costs N5,000 to refill a 5kg gas cylinder in Kwara state which made the highest average price for April.
The report adds, “On State profile analysis, Kwara recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N5,000.00, followed by Abuja with N4,965.15, and Kaduna with N4,960.80.
“On the other hand, Rivers recorded the lowest price with N4,250.00, followed by Enugu and Anambra with N4,252.51 and N4,256.14 respectively. In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N4,893.67, followed by the North-West with N4,693.76, while the South-East recorded the lowest with N4,461.65,” NBS report shows.
Likewise, the NBS noted that while the price of refilling 5kg increased by 0.69% in April, that of the 12.5kg cylinder rose by 0.59% on a monthly basis.
“Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.59% on a month-on-month basis from N10,262.56 in March 2023 to N10,323.33 in April 2023. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 26.44% from N8,164.37 in April 2022.”
Kenneth Okonkwo, one of the media aides to Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi has faulted proposed fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu.
Recall Tinubu, during his inaugural speech on Monday, May 29, announced the removal of fuel subsidy which led to a nationwide scarcity and hike of the product.
Kenneth who spoke to ARISE TV on Wednesday, blasted the current administration for inflicting pain on Nigerians within its few days in office.
According to him, the APC flag-bearer (Tinubu), during its campaign, promised Nigerians renewed hope but delivered hopelessness to them on the first day of inauguration.
“We already have a very beautiful model which we placed before the Nigerian people and they already accepted, so wouldn’t need to have a new model. We have a model that we are going to implement at the appropriate time.
“You have seen the model which they (APC) promised you, they promised you renewed hope but from the first day of the inauguration, they gave you renewed hopelessness,” he said.
Civil Servants Abandoned Private Cars To Trek To Offices Following Hike In Fuel Price in Enugu
AdminSome civil servants in Enugu metropolis Wednesday abandoned their private cars and resorted to trekking and boarding commercial vehicles with the price of a litre of premium motor spirit selling at N600.
Speaking with THE WHISTLER on Thursday, some of them working at the state secretariat said they came to work in commercial vehicles. Ikenna Chikodili said, “I have no option with this development. I boarded a commercial bus from Agbani road. The price has also increased from N200 to N300, but far cheaper than buying a litre of PMS at N600 or N550 which it sells at most filling stations in the city. I now budget N600 every day, and will henceforth avoid unnecessary journeys.”
Hillary Mbamalu was seen driving his car to the office. He said, “I had some reserves in the tank. I drove because I needed to drop off my kids at the University Secondary School. But I am thinking of options when the PMS I have is exhausted. My salary can’t sustain this development. Even commercial drivers have increased their fares by over 100%. Maybe the option would be to find schools close to my house so that there may be no need for school run any longer.”
For Emeka Osondu, “I worked from my house to the office. It is about minutes’ work from Agu-Abor to the secretariat. For now, that is my option. Keke riders have doubled their fare. I am on grade level 4, and have a family to take care of. Let us hope that in the long run, this fuel subsidy removal will solve our common hardship as our leaders make us believe.”
A commercial driver, Thomas Ogbuka, blamed the rush with which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the fuel subsidy removal for the increased suffering residents of the metropolis currently pass through.
According to him, “He might have meant well, after all it is the out-gone president Muhammadu Buhari that removed the subsidy from the budget. But Tinubu announcing it during his inaugural address means he was not properly advised. He has succeeded only in enriching petroleum marketers who now smile to bank to the detriment of Nigerians who had thought that Buhari had left with his difficult government.”
Kelvin Ugwuoke, an industrial psychologist, said President Tinubu had started wrongly. In his words, “This is a clear problem most of our leaders have. In other climes, he should have had a roundtable with petroleum marketers to decide the best approach in the interest of the masses. I read that the removal of the subsidy should take effect this June. He should have engaged the stakeholders, and also sensitised the masses ahead of time. The plight of ordinary Nigerians, especially poor income earners who transport themselves to their places of work worries me. The hardship is now a continuum from Buhari’s era. Let the government engage professionals in some of its decisions as a departure from the past when administration was an all-comers’ affair.”
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Sylvester Ezeokenwa, a 38-year-old, has been elected as the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Ezeokenwa was elected to succeed Victor Oye as chairman of the party on Wednesday in Awka, the Anambra capital, by delegates from the 36 states of the country and FCT.
Oye said he left N300 million in the party’s bank account, adding that he faced over 200 court cases and won all while he was the party chairman.
He added that he completed the party’s national secretariat building in Abuja and a five-storey zonal office in Awka.
“This is despite the fact that I inherited less than N40 million from my predecessor,” NAN quoted Oye as saying.
In his remarks, Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, said it was his first national convention and thanked the party for a peaceful exercise and for sponsoring him in a successful governorship election.
He commended Oye for giving the party focused leadership for eight years and for managing the party’s resources effectively.
“I am extremely thrilled that the past executives of APGA got stronger and Oye has written his name in gold. You served APGA and left it better than you met it,” Soludo said.
The convention also nominated and ratified new members of Board of Trustees led by Willie Obiano, former governor of the state.
On his part, the new APGA chairman thanked the party members for choosing him and for the confidence reposed in him.
“Today, I am the youngest national chairman of any political party in Nigeria and posterity stares at the new executives in the face as they lead all progressives in the country,” he said.
[TheCable]
The President, Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem has called on Nigerians to pray fervently to God to bring an end to the incessant and reckless killing of innocent citizens of the country.
Mensem made the call during a condolence visit at the residence of Justice Jummai Sankey, JCA, over the demise of her husband Dr Yakubu Sankey.
Recall that Dr Sankey, a one-time Acting Director of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Jos, was assassinated by suspected terrorists last week in Southern Kaduna.
The Court of Appeal President described the demise of Dr Sankey as a huge loss, “not only to his immediate family, the people of Kaduna State but to the entire country.”
She urged the family to accept the unfortunate incident as the will of God.
Speaking to journalists after signing the condolence register, Justice Dongban-Mensem said, “The entire Judiciary is saddened over the unfortunate incident.
“However, we are children of peace, we are children of faith. So, I would appeal to the family to receive what has happened in good faith.
“We need to pray that God should strengthen the family at this moment of grief.
“We must also pray for our nation that the wasting of innocent lives should come to an end”.
On the mood of the Court of Appeal over the unfortunate incident, the Mensem said, “The Court of Appeal is a family court and we are all sad. What touches one touches all of us that’s why you see that we are all here.
“As a matter of fact, the whole Judiciary is one family. The CJN who is pained over this incident has asked me to convey his heartfelt condolences to the family”.
Earlier in his response on behalf of the family, Dr. Babangida Sankey, first son of the deceased, appreciated the show of love by the Appeal Court family.
He said, “You have shown us that indeed, the Court of Appeal is a family. We bless you and pray that in the event of difficulty, you would equally be surrounded by people just as you have surrounded us”.
He prayed that the judiciary would rise up to the occasion and remain impartial at this trying moment of our nation.
The Court of Appeal President was accompanied by some judges and the Registrar of the court.
[DailyPost]
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied a newspaper report (not LEADERSHIP) that it devalued the Naira.
In a swift reaction contained in a statement issued on Thursday morning by the CBN’s acting Director of Corporate Communication, Dr. Isa AbdulMumumin, titled ‘CBN Has Not Devalued The Naira’, he said the attention of the apex bank was drawn to the news report by an Abuja based newspaper edition of June 1, 2023, titled “CB Devalues Naira To 630/51”.
However, the CBN stated categorically that the news report was replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilizing innuendos, ‘reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.’
“For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the Investors’ & Exporters (I&E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at N465/USS1 and has been stable around this rate for a while.
“The public is hereby advised to ignore the news report by Daily Trust in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market,” the CBN spokesman added.
He, therefore, advised media practitioners to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.
[Leadership]
The President of the Nigerian Medical Association {NMA} Dr Uche Ojinmah, on Wednesday, described the removal of petrol subsidy as a good policy but called on the government to increase the salaries of workers so as to cushion the effect of the new policy.
Dr Ojinmah was reacting to the new price regime for petrol.
He said: “I personally believe that it is a good policy to remove the subsidy if for nothing, just to save Nigerians from that questionable gargantuan budgetary expenditure.
“I actually supported the removal of petrol subsidy by President Goodluck Jonathan and was sad when he did a somersault because I knew that it was just a postponement of the evil day which has come 11 years later.
“I may not agree with the bombshell pattern of this withdrawal but let’s just move on. We also believe that our governments will not wait for workers to start agitating for salary increment as part of the cushion but will do the right thing by increasing workers’ salary by about 200 per cent.’’
“If you check the fuel pump price increase announced by the NNPCL, you will notice that it’s about a 200 per cent rise and the same should be applied to the salary of workers. If the government raised the salary quickly without stressing the workers and their unions, it will be better for all, but if agitations start, this country may be paralysed.’’
The NMA President also called for other measures, including food price control to give Nigerians a cushion from the harsh realities of the effects of the market-driven petrol pump price.
[RipplesNigeria]