From Nigeria to the NFL, Chicago Bears OL Roy Mbaeteka hopes to continue his football fairy tale
AdminChicago Bears offensive tackle Roy Mbaeteka has always considered himself a patient person with an ability to see the bigger picture. Thus, as he paced the sideline at Soldier Field during Saturday’s preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills, he suppressed his restlessness with a double dose of football curiosity.
For 3 hours and 9 minutes, with the Bears running 59 plays on offense and 27 more on special teams, Mbaeteka waited to see if he’d get another brief opportunity for in-game action. But his call never came. He saw only two snaps across the entire month of NFL preseason games — as part of the Bears field goal team.
But why would Mbaeteka pout or check out when his education in the sport where he is trying to build a career remains elementary?
“I don’t like to dwell on negative thoughts,” he said. “Even standing there and watching, I’m still learning a lot about this game and observing other people to see how they operate. There’s a big learning curve for me.
“Do I want to be out there? Yes. But I still believe that on this journey, there will be perfect timing.”
Maybe now is the perfect time to mention Mbaeteka’s entry into football came just a little more than five years ago — in his late teens in Nigeria as he and others interested in the sport practiced with rudimentary understanding picked up through YouTube.
Maybe here is the spot to emphasize Mbaeteka has played in only four football games. In his life. At any level. (And they have all been in the NFL preseason.)
Maybe this is where we pull back the curtain on Mbaeteka’s trek through the league’s International Player Pathway program and wonder whether this driven, humble, curious 6-foot-9, 320-pound giant has a real chance to take what has already been a dream and turn it into a riveting fairy tale.
“I take my journey as it comes. Day by day,” Mbaeteka said. “This is all part of a bigger plan.”
Mbaeteka wasn’t exactly all-in on the day his football journey truly accelerated. He was just being agreeable in the summer of 2021 when a buddy, Sodiq Muhammed, urged him to come along to the Uprise camp in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Mbaeteka was 20 years old, living in Lagos and pushing to figure out what he was going to do next. For three years, he had pursued basketball. And why wouldn’t he? He had rare size plus attention-grabbing dexterity and grace. Yet no matter how much talent he possessed or how much promise he showed, every time he attended a camp with hopes of making a life-changing breakthrough, he’d fall just short.
“There was always something, some reason,” Mbaeteka said. “I was always getting right to the finish line but never getting across.”
So Mbaeteka wasn’t expecting anything momentous when he agreed to drop in at Uprise, the talent-discovery stage that former New York Giants standout and fellow Nigerian Osi Umenyiora had set up in Abuja. Mbaeteka certainly wasn’t expecting to essentially teleport to the NFL, where he broke in with the Giants last season and is now looking to further his career with the Bears.
When Muhammed urged him to attend Uprise, he was simply agreeing to take a swing. First, though, Mbaeteka and his friend needed to navigate the 470 miles from Lagos to Abuja. They had no vehicle and limited funds, instead leaning on a “What the heck?” spirit when they decided they’d somehow hitch a ride.
“Mind you,” Mbaeteka said, “this was immediately after the COVID-19 lockdown had lifted. Nobody was giving anybody a ride.”
In some respects, Mbaeteka resigned himself to the most likely outcome.
“In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘I’m just going to stand here by the road for a couple hours and when nothing happens I’ll go back home.’ Just making it look like, ‘Hey, I gave it a shot.’”
Nevertheless, at a gas station in Lagos, a stranger noticed Mbaeteka and Muhammed lingering — each with just a lightly packed travel bag — and was genuinely curious about what they were up to. The man was a fan of American football and headed in the direction of Abuja, offering to take Mbaeteka and Muhammed most of the way.
The ride? Just a quick 11 1/2-hour field trip — full of dreams and imparted wisdom. “Fatherly advice almost,” Mbaeteka called it.
“It was almost like he was sent to us,” he added.
When the driver reached the end of his trek, he dropped the two football hopefuls off and gave them money to grab a bus for the rest of the way.
At the Uprise tryout, Mbaeteka caught the eyes of Umenyiora and co-director Ejike Ugboaja, showing enough athleticism and promise to receive his proverbial golden ticket. That was it right there, the twist of fate that gave Mbaeteka his invitation to the NFL’s International Combine in London which then pushed him on to a 10-week training program in Arizona as part of the International Player Pathway program.
From there, he received his first professional contract with the Giants, spending 2022 on the team’s practice squad before re-entering the NFL’s IPP and being assigned to the Bears in May.
At this point, Mbaeteka projects as a 10,000,000:1 long shot to make the 53-man roster by Tuesday’s deadline. Even that might be generous. More likely, he will be asked to see general manager Ryan Poles in the next two days and told he is being cut. Still, there is a strong possibility his fall will be cushioned with an invitation to the practice squad this week.
“Hopefully,” Mbaeteka said.
The Bears essentially hold a no-risk exemption with an extra practice squad spot as part of the league’s International Player Pathway program guidelines.
Offensive line coach Chris Morgan is eager to continue aiding Mbaeteka’s development. “Every day he’s just, ‘I’m going to get a little bit better. Every day I’m going to gain a little more understanding.’ He wants to learn,” Morgan said.
That’s been part of the book on Mbaeteka since he began this journey two-plus years ago, fueling the ride with intelligence, focus and diligence. Combine that with his size, length and agility, factor in his lack of playing experience, and it’s easy to imagine what he could one day become.
“Like, Roy has not played football,” Morgan said. “So yes, there’s a lot of regard put into that, seeing where he’s at with absolutely no track record. It’s pretty impressive when you think about it.”
A year ago, former Pro Bowl offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley, now the NFL’s senior adviser of player performance and development, called Mbaeteka “by far the most physically advanced athlete I’ve worked with at his current stage of growth and development.”
Through that lens, Mbaeteka’s rise over the past two-and-a-half years remains staggering.
“My knowledge is now miles from where I started,” he said. “But I still have a million miles to go.”
He laughs when he reflects now on how surface-level his YouTube introduction to the sport was.
“We would do drills based on what we watched. But it was completely simple. We never went into game concepts. It was more, ‘This is pass blocking. This is run blocking.’ It was just entirely a broad concept thing, like ‘Just run and block that guy.’ And all the defensive guys did was come at you or bull rush or try to beat you (around the edge). Everything was made simple.
“It’s different playing checkers than it is playing chess.”
Now, as Mbaeteka continues to understand and embrace the complexity of the game, he has understood why the Bears have limited his exposure to game action.
“As much as I want to be out there,” he said, “I don’t want to jump in when I’m not ready yet and then butcher things up for everybody else.
“This is a true team sport. And if I’m not ready to help my team, I’m just going to be a loose end that is messing with the whole thing.”
That’s been part of football’s draw to Mbaeteka, the way everything must fit together for success to materialize. On Saturday, as he again played the role of observant onlooker, Mbaeteka found himself marveling at his teammates.
“I appreciate the level of effort,” he said. “It’s amazing watching a bunch of guys go out there and play for something bigger than themselves. Every time I watch, I see these guys playing in a way where they’re making sure the person next to them can do well also.
“It’s always amazing. Every time I see that, I say to myself, ‘Man, I really want to do this. I really, really want to do this.’”
Mbaeteka will continue trying, hoping this week the Bears will further his opportunity for another developmental season that will be, in so many different ways, dizzying.
“I don’t think my head will ever stop spinning throughout this journey,” Mbaeteka said. “That’s fun for me. I don’t think I want it to stop spinning. I want everything to keep happening like this is a big story. And with every step that passes, a new chapter is unfolding.”
[chicagotribune]
President Bola Tinubu spent the months since his victory at the February 25 election setting clear goals for each sector in the country and will not tolerate failure from either of his recently inaugurated ministers, presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said Monday.
“The President has set the benchmarks,” the Senior Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity noted on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“The question now is about enforcements and the President has shown, as he did during his time in Lagos State as governor, that he is not someone that is afraid to fire anybody.
“He is not somebody that is afraid to levy quick sanctions to ensure that they get the results that he wants ’cause, ultimately, if this administration fails, they will not say a minister failed or a set of ministers failed. They will say President Bola Tinubu failed, and he will not accept failure.”
According to Ngelale, the President used the interim period between his emergence as the president-elect and his inauguration on May 29 to set up “a series of reform committees across all the sectors”.
Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale appears on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, August 28, 2023.
“[Tinubu] basically looked at exactly what His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has achieved and said, ‘This is what we want to do to build on all these achievements,” Ngelale explained.
“We’re going to effectively implement a plan within a certain amount of time based on time-based benchmarks that when a minister has come in, we would be able to measure their performance against.’
“Every minister coming in absolutely knows what they have to achieve within the time frame that’s been given to them by the President and that’s something in the history of Nigerian governance we’ve never seen before.”
President Bola Tinubu has convened the inaugural Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of his administration at the State House in Abuja.
The meeting comes 92 days after his official inauguration as Nigeria’s 16th president on May 29, 2023.
The meeting is taking place on the heels of the recent swearing-in of 45 ministers as members of Tinubu’s cabinet and is being attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, among others.
The FEC meeting serves as a platform for the president to share his plans and receive expert advice and diverse perspectives from his cabinet members.
The president is expected to use the inaugural FEC meeting to set the agenda for his administration and to outline his priorities for the country in terms of policy direction and approach to various challenges facing the nation.
The areas will range from the economy, security, infrastructure development, healthcare, education, and foreign policy.
In terms of the economy, Tinubu is expected to give his ministers and other aides a detailed presentation on his plans to address the country’s economic challenges and the impact of the recent removal of fuel subsidy, among others.
Rep. Amobi Ogah (LP-Abia) has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu as a gift to the people of South Eastern Nigeria.
Ogah, a member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia in the House of Representatives, made the appeal in a statement in Abuja on Monday.
According to him, the insecurity in the South East region is due to the prolonged detention of the proscribed IPOB leader; the president should release him as a show of love to N’digbo.
Ogah said Kanu’s release would expose criminal gangs using the detention to cover their act of terrorism in the South East.
He noted that the president had done so much, but added that the only point of disagreement was the issue of giving only five ministers to the entire South East.
He appealed to the president to balance it, to show he really loved N’digbo as well as release Kanu, so that insecurity in the South East would reduce.
“The issue now is that we don’t even know those who are behind the insecurity in the South East.
“IPOB will tell you they are not the one, Eastern Security Network will tell you they are not involved.
“But some will say the reason is because they are holding Nnamdi Kanu. So my prayer to Mr. President is that he should give him (Kanu) to us as a gift,” he said.
Tony Elumelu, CFR, Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc has emphasised the need to empower the private sector to transform Nigeria.
He made this remark at the 63rd Annual General Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) held on Sunday 27th, August 2023 in Abuja. He said:
- “Transforming Nigeria is a journey that demands our collective dedication, building across political affiliations, ethnic differences, and socioeconomic differences.
- One that is not the responsibility of our government alone. Great nations start with great people, not just great leaders.
- Our private sector, our philanthropies, our civil society, all citizens must be brought together and be empowered – as real, valued and executing partners for this national renewal, this nation building.”
Elumelu also talked about the need for youth empowerment in aspects of entrepreneurship citing the work of Tony Elumelu Foundation in championing this cause. He stated:
- “Investment in our youth – we need to renew our commitment to our youth, provide them with the means to succeed in Nigeria – not beyond Nigeria. This means not just investment in our education system but in our entrepreneurial culture.
- Nigeria is a nation of entrepreneurs – you know me as an investor and champion of entrepreneurs – I know the social and economic returns entrepreneurship creates.
- Let us create a joined-up government task force to champion at the highest level, our young and our entrepreneurs. When entrepreneurs succeed, we succeed as a nation. If they don’t, we all fail.
- In my engagement with fellow private sector leaders, my message is simple: We must see ourselves as the engine of innovation, the source of investment, and the creators of jobs. This is exactly what we have achieved at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.”
In terms of private sector investment, Mr Elumelu also gave insights on how the Federal Government can further improve the power sector. He spotlighted Transcorp Group’s TransAfam Power Plant’s 1000MW capacity.
- “Let us invest in our power sector – let us create regulatory structures that reward success, that deliver to our people, our schools, our hospitals and our industries, the sustainable, robust power supply that our country so urgently needs.
- “Is it not ironic that a country with abundant gas resources cannot optimally operate its power plants due to a lack of gas?
- “I have seen, the beginnings of what we can do. Let me give you an example: The TransAfam Power Plant that belongs to Transcorp Group has an installed capacity of 1000 megawatts.
- “The Federal Government of Nigeria made a significant investment to acquire 240 megawatts of fast power turbines from General Electric (GE).
- “For context, 240 megawatts of electricity can power about one million homes in Nigeria.”
Senior Advocates of Nigeria and other senior lawyers yesterday spoke in unison on the controversy that trailed the appointment of Hannatu Musawa as minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, by President Bola Tinubu.
According to them, there is no iota of illegality in her appointment.
There has been controversy over her appointment, with many claiming that Musawa cannot be appointed as minister while still undergoing the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
A senior official of the NYSC had confirmed that the minister is a serving corps member.
Musawa was appointed minister by President Bola Tinubu about two weeks ago.
Shortly after her inauguration, some Nigerians disagreed with her appointment, saying she can’t observe her mandatory one-year youth service programme and still serve as minister of the federal republic at the same time.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Abdul Balogun (SAN), said no law under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria bars her from taking up appointment as a minister while observing youth service.
According to him, there is nothing illegal about her appointment.
He said, “There is absolutely nothing illegal in the appointment of the minister. She can serve as a minister and at the same time observe her youth service. For me, I don’t think any issue should be made out of her appointment. If this controversy is allowed to linger, it will amount to distraction for the minister and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) where she will be serving. I think we have more issues to deal with than this because there is nothing to debate about on this, the 1999 Constitution is clear on this”.
Another learned silk, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), maintained that the controversy over Musawa’s appointment was unnecessary because appointment into a political office is a call to service and should not be seen as employment for personal gains.
Adegoke said the appointment is a continuation of her duties as a youth corps member under the Act and should not attract any remuneration beyond what is payable to an average youth corps member until the expiration of her period for youth service.
The rights activist said, “The NYSC Act, in Section 12 thereof, requires every prospective employer to ask for the certificate of discharge or exemption of any person who is eligible for youth service under the Act before such a person is offered employment.
“It means that no person shall be employed without producing such a certificate as required by the Act. However, the provision in this regard does not mean that no person can be appointed into a political office without having completed the youth service.
“Appointment into a political office is a service that cannot be seen as employment for personal gains. It is this wrong perspective that an average Nigerian harbours that makes us to be thinking that a political appointment should be seen as a career or an opportunity for self-enrichment like an average employment.
“I do not subscribe to the criticism of the appointment of Hannatu Musawa in this regard. Do we see the appointment of a minister as an opportunity to serve the nation? Hannatu should be regarded as carrying out her obligation to serve the land since she had enrolled for youth service before the president appointed her as a minister.
“She was already undergoing the youth service before she was appointed. The appointment in this regard should be seen as re-deployment from wherever she was serving before.
“It is a continuation of her duties as a youth corps member under the Act and should not attract any remuneration beyond what is payable to an average youth corps member until the expiration of her period for youth service.
“The only instance in which she could have committed an offence contrary to the NYSC Act is if she had claimed that she had completed youth service before her appointment as a minister.
“I believe that rather than creating a storm in a tea cup, this matter should be treated as stated herein,” he maintained.
In his view, a retired lecturer, faculty of law, Lagos of University, Prof Gbenga Ojo, said the legality of the appointment is debatable.
Ojo said on whether it is lawful or not, it is a debatable point.
“It is unprecedented but I don’t think that it is unlawful. It is an appointment and not employment. The condition precedent to getting employment in Nigeria is that you must have completed the one-year mandatory youth corps service to the nation. That is the law.
“Though it can be argued that this is appointment at the prerogative of the president and not employment and, therefore, not within the contemplation of the law.
“The draftsman would not have contemplated that a serving member of the programme will be appointed as a minister or given any appointment for that matter.
“It might be difficult for her to get employment in the future unless she goes back to complete the programme by which time, she will not be eligible. It is a youth programme for graduates of 30 years and below.
“Furthermore, she definitely does not have any experience at all. If she must be appointed, it should a special adviser and not even senior special adviser. How she passed through the screening by the Senate is difficult to understand.
“If it is to appeal to the youths, there are other youths with experience. It is not right. To think that nobody or organisation has raised this issue before now is another disturbing issue.
“On whether it is lawful or not, it is a debatable point. It is unprecedented but I don’t think that it is unlawful. It is an appointment and not employment,” he said.
On his part, Ahamed Raji (SAN), said there appears to be some fine distinction between being employed and being appointed.
The learned silk stated: “Discharge certificate may be a condition for employment. I am not sure (and of course barring any misrepresentation), the discharge certificate may be a condition for appointments.
“It is however doubtful if some appointments can be combined with service. Where such may not be combined, the lesser one may be suspended”.
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mahmud S. Abdulahi, said once she meets the pre-conditions in Section 147 of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
According to him, Section 147 (5) of the 1999 Constitution says, “No person shall be appointed as a Minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.
“Section 106 of the 1999 constitution says you must be a citizen of Nigeria; you must have attained the age of 25 years, and you have been educated up to at least a school certificate level, or its equivalent. You must be a member of a political party and you must be sponsored by that political party.
“The question to ask at this point is, did she meet all these conditions? If she meets all these conditions, then, no reason to raise any issue about her appointment.”
Another senior lawyer, Barrister Paul Ezemadu, said wondered why Nigerians love to raise unnecessary controversy.
“I dare say that the controversy over the minister’s NYSC status is out of joblessness or idleness. Some persons just want to make issues out of nothing. There is no issue here. The minister is eminently qualified for the appointment”, he said.
Also, a constitutional lawyer, Barrister Audu Belau, called on the minister to ignore those calling for her sack’ saying it is a distraction which she should not allow.
“It is not enough to call for a public officer’s sack. You should look at the law backing the appointment of such public officers before talking.
“My advice for the minister is to ignore those noise about her status as regards NYSC and concentrate on the work she has been appointed to do”, Belau said.
Musawa Debunks Statement On NYSC Status
Meanwhile, the minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, Barrister Musawa, yesterday refuted claims circulating in a piece titled: “My Personal Statement on My NYSC Status as a Serving Minister.”
The minister clarified that the piece inaccurately associated her with the ongoing discussion about her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) status.
The minister, in a statement signed by the deputy director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Suleiman Haruna, yesterday in Abuja categorically stated that she has not issued any official statement on the matter in question.
She urged the public to exercise caution and refrain from spreading unverified information.
Expressing gratitude for the support and understanding of the Nigerian people during this time, Barrister Musawa reiterated her position, saying, “I deeply value and appreciate the support, solidarity, and understanding of Nigerians in these times. For clarity, I wish to state that I have not issued any statement on the current issue.”
The minister added that she has not released any official statement regarding the aforementioned matter and kindly asks the public to be cautious of unverified information.
Niger military leadership has cut off electricity and water supplies to the French Embassy in the capital Niamey with no food deliveries allowed, Turkish news wire, Anadolu reports citing multiple social media sources.
Reports say the military junta has also taken similar action at the French consulate in Zinder, Tera, Oualam, Ayorou, Dosso, Niamey, Filingue and everywhere else.
The President of the National Support Committee for the CNSP Elh Issa Hassoumi Boureima asked all partners of the French bases in Niger to suspend all fuel supplies of water and electricity and food products.
“We ask Nigelec and SPEN (SEEN)) to cut off water and electricity in the French Embassy, in the French consulates of Zinder and Niamey,” he was quoted to have said.
In addition, any partners who continue to help the French in the process of supplying the goods and services will be considered enemies of the sovereign people.
The reports come after a two-day deadline given by the military administration to the French ambassador, Sylvain Itte, 48 hours to leave Nigerien territory expired Sunday.
Relations between the new regime in Niamey and several Western powers, and the West African bloc ECOWAS, have soured since the coup on 26 July.
However, authorities in Paris were quick to reject the order against its ambassador by Friday evening, repeating that France did not recognise the military rulers’ authority.
Niger was plunged into turmoil on July 26 after Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, a former commander of the presidential guard, led a military intervention that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
President Bola Tinubu has told Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), not to give him free land should he ask for one.
Tinubu charged Wike to deliver the Abuja metroline for the good of the city instead.
The president spoke in Abuja on Sunday, while declaring open the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
He described Wike as the “landlord of Abuja”.
“I want to ride on your metroline. If I ask for free land, do not give me,” Tinubu said.
“But deliver the metroline for the good of the greatest number of Nigerians.”
Wike, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was one of 45 ministers appointed by Tinubu.
During an inspection tour on Wednesday, Wike said the Abuja rail mass transit (ARMT) should be completed in eight months.
The FCT minister took the train ride from the metro station, through the Idu station and then to the airport station.
The rail, which was developed in six phases, was funded with loans from the China EXIM Bank.
It was commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari on July 12, 2018, but packed up shortly after, largely due to vandalism.
Wike frowned at the dysfunctional state of the rail system and said one of his priorities is to address challenges affecting public transportation in the FCT.
He added that if completed, the train system would significantly reduce traffic congestion in the city.
VIDEO: If I ask for free land, don't give me; but deliver metro lines in Abuja, Tinubu tells Wike
: NTA News pic.twitter.com/g0EDeeZ7LW
— TheCable (@thecableng) August 27, 2023
[TheCable]
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), says the reduction in the number of days civil servants appear physically at work is not economically beneficial to the country.
Tommy Okon, ASCSN national president said this in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr Okon said that the new development would also affect the productivity of the workforce.
It could be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had on May 29th, announced the removal of fuel subsidy, prompting economic challenges for majority of Nigerians.
This led to some civil servants cutting down the number of days they appear at work physically.
According to Mr Okon, Nigeria is not ripe for such system, where people can sit at home and work steadily.
“The issues of poor electricity or internet facilities will naturally pose challenges to such working pattern.
“Nigeria is not there yet because we don’t even have the power, no electricity, the internet facilities and the rest of it.
“We are used to physically being present in the workplace, where things are done. That is the culture of work in Nigeria,”he said.
“Also, when you look at the future of work in other developed countries, yes, we can adopt work at home, we can adopt artificial intelligence, we can adopt every other means,”he said.
He added these can not be adopted in the Nigeria context or African extension, because we are trying to come out of the woods and culture and environment are different.
According to him, going by the developmental issues in labour management relations, there are three basics E’s which are energy, environment, and the economy and they must be present in order to achieve developmental milestones.
ASCSN president also said the palliative programme being mulled by the federal government in view of the subsidy removal policy to cushion the hardship was ‘over’ delayed.
According to Mr Okon, salaries of civil servants have remained static despite the subsidy crisis that has impacted much on livelihood of Nigerians.
“What is the take home, if you have removed fuel subsidy for three month now and the take home of the federal civil servant remains static, there is nothing coming and nothing going out, it a problem,” he said.
He also alleged that the 40 per cent peculiar allowance that the union canvassed for and got from the last administration, was now being taxed.
“We have sent a memo to government that allowance should not be taxed, so that tells you that those managing the economy do not understand how things work,” he said.
He however, called on the governments at all level to ensure proper distribution of the palliatives given to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal in the country.
He also urged them to setup implementation committees both at federal and states level with chairmen to ensure proper accountability for the palliatives distribution.
(NAN)
Nigeria’s external reserves dropped by $915m after the Central Bank of Nigeria officially floated the naira and liberalised the foreign exchange market.
CBN data obtained on Sunday showed that the reserves, which stood at $34.66bn as of June 14, 2023, when the naira was floated, fell to $33.74bn as of August 24, 2023.
The naira value had closed at 471.67/$ at the Investor & Exporter forex window on June 13, a day before the CBN announced the naira float.
Following the development, the local currency fell to over 700/$ at the I&E window.
The naira has been trading at over 700/dollar since then.
At the parallel market on Saturday, the naira was bought and sold for 900/$ and 915/$.
Pounds Sterling was bought and sold for N1160 and N1180, according to Bureau de Change operators who spoke with The PUNCH.
At the I&E window, the naira commenced trading on Friday at 773.29/$ and hit a high of 799.9/$ before closing at 778.42/$.
At the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the acting Governor, CBN, Mr Folashodun Shonubi, had said, “Accretion to external reserves remains weak while foreign exchange demand pressure persists.”
While noting that the apex bank would save the naira from further slides, he vowed to clamp down on operations of illegal Bureau de Change operators.
The development came after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said it was taking a $3bn loan from Africa Import and Export Bank, as a temporary measure to improve dollar supply in the country.
The President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, had said the CBN would be going tough on illegal operators in their efforts to stabilise the naira.
“At a sensitisation engagement between the CBN and a few of our compliance officers across the zones, the apex bank reiterated that by August 31, 2023, any breaches on the allowable margin of -2.5 per cent and +2.5 per cent on the average weighted rate of I&E closing rate, rendition of returns and payment of penalties, if any, will lead to revocation of the operating licence of the operator,” he said.
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The Economic Community of West African States has demanded a shorter transition from the junta in Niger.
The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, told the Ulamas during a meeting with them on Thursday that the three-year transition proposed by the military leaders was unacceptable to the regional body.
A member of the Islamic clerics who met with the President, the National Missioner, Ansar-udeen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmad, disclosed this to The PUNCH in a phone interview on Saturday.
The Ulamas had held a meeting with the Niger junta in a bid to avert military intervention to restore democracy in the francophone country as planned by the ECOWAS.
During their interface, the junta leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, had indicated an interest in holding a dialogue to resolve the political impasse resulting from the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum in the July 26 coup.
They also asked the Ulamas to prevail on Tinubu to restore electricity which was cut off from Niger as part of sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
Speaking to our correspondent on the outcome of their meeting with the President, Ahmad, who is the spokesperson for the Ulamas, explained that Tinubu insisted that the military leaders must give specifics of their transition programme which must also be brief.
He said, “What we did Thursday was to brief him (ECOWAS chairman) on the outcome of our visit. The reason he has asked us to go back is that he wants specifics from the junta. That was what he said; their response was too open-ended and he could not hold that. That is why he asked us to go back.
“The President wants specifics that what he (head of the junta) had said is too general; they want to be able to hold them to a timeline and the commitment and the specifics of the short time of transition.”
On when the delegation would return to Niamey, the cleric said, “We are deliberating on when it will be convenient for members to go back and when it will be convenient for the people we are going to meet to receive us.
“We are still deliberating on when to go back, so we haven’t fixed a date yet. The point is that we have stated it time and time again, over and over, that we are not a government delegation as such.
“The vision to intervene was a private initiative of the Ulamas and it is not a committee set up by the government. We are only trying to facilitate peaceful resolution with regard to the conflict without the need for the use of force.
“So, to that extent, we sought the permission of the President because it is not something we can do on our own, basically with another country. The President granted the permission, and then we began and of course, our President is the chairman of ECOWAS and we briefed him each time we visited the Nigerien people. But basically, it’s is about the convenience of members of the delegation, and then we will reconvene and then we go.’’
The Presidency could not be reached for comment on Sunday as Tinubu’s media adviser, Ajuri Ngelari, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking confirmation of Ahmad’s statement that Tinubu was seeking the specifics of the junta’s transition programme.
But the President during his discussion with the clerics led by Sheikh Bala Lau at the State House in Abuja, emphasized that he was at the forefront of a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
“I am managing a very serious situation. If you take ECOWAS aside, other people will react, those who are outside of our control. I am the one holding those sides back. I am the one holding back ECOWAS,” he disclosed.
Addressing the urgency of the situation, the President said: “Even as at this morning, I have been inundated with phone calls on the readiness of countries with their military force and contributions. However, I told them to wait. I am meeting with the Ulamas and I will get back to you.”
Tinubu told the Islamic delegation that the military junta must be held accountable for putting the entire people of the Niger Republic in jeopardy.
“They cannot use the gun given to them to protect the sovereignty of the country and turn it against.
The Economic Community of West African States has demanded a shorter transition from the junta in Niger.
The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, told the Ulamas during a meeting with them on Thursday that the three-year transition proposed by the military leaders was unacceptable to the regional body.
A member of the Islamic clerics who met with the President, the National Missioner, Ansar-udeen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmad, disclosed this to The PUNCH in a phone interview on Saturday.
The Ulamas had held a meeting with the Niger junta in a bid to avert military intervention to restore democracy in the francophone country as planned by the ECOWAS.
During their interface, the junta leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, had indicated an interest in holding a dialogue to resolve the political impasse resulting from the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum in the July 26 coup.
They also asked the Ulamas to prevail on Tinubu to restore electricity which was cut off from Niger as part of sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
Speaking to our correspondent on the outcome of their meeting with the President, Ahmad, who is the spokesperson for the Ulamas, explained that Tinubu insisted that the military leaders must give specifics of their transition programme which must also be brief.
He said, “What we did Thursday was to brief him (ECOWAS chairman) on the outcome of our visit. The reason he has asked us to go back is that he wants specifics from the junta. That was what he said; their response was too open-ended and he could not hold that. That is why he asked us to go back.
“The President wants specifics that what he (head of the junta) had said is too general; they want to be able to hold them to a timeline and the commitment and the specifics of the short time of transition.”
On when the delegation would return to Niamey, the cleric said, “We are deliberating on when it will be convenient for members to go back and when it will be convenient for the people we are going to meet to receive us.
“We are still deliberating on when to go back, so we haven’t fixed a date yet. The point is that we have stated it time and time again, over and over, that we are not a government delegation as such.
“The vision to intervene was a private initiative of the Ulamas and it is not a committee set up by the government. We are only trying to facilitate peaceful resolution with regard to the conflict without the need for the use of force.
“So, to that extent, we sought the permission of the President because it is not something we can do on our own, basically with another country. The President granted the permission, and then we began and of course, our President is the chairman of ECOWAS and we briefed him each time we visited the Nigerien people. But basically, it’s is about the convenience of members of the delegation, and then we will reconvene and then we go.’’
The Presidency could not be reached for comment on Sunday as Tinubu’s media adviser, Ajuri Ngelari, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking confirmation of Ahmad’s statement that Tinubu was seeking the specifics of the junta’s transition programme.
But the President during his discussion with the clerics led by Sheikh Bala Lau at the State House in Abuja, emphasized that he was at the forefront of a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
“I am managing a very serious situation. If you take ECOWAS aside, other people will react, those who are outside of our control. I am the one holding those sides back. I am the one holding back ECOWAS,” he disclosed.
Addressing the urgency of the situation, the President said: “Even as at this morning, I have been inundated with phone calls on the readiness of countries with their military force and contributions. However, I told them to wait. I am meeting with the Ulamas and I will get back to you.”
Tinubu told the Islamic delegation that the military junta must be held accountable for putting the entire people of the Niger Republic in jeopardy.
“They cannot use the gun given to them to protect the sovereignty of the country and turn it against.
I Became An Enemy To My Colleagues For Disclosing My Salary, Allowance As Senator – Shehu Sani
AdminA former Kaduna federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has said the disclosure of his allowances and salary as a member of the National Assembly, years ago made him an enemy to his colleagues.
The chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said he was the first lawmaker in the history of Nigeria to disclose that N13.5m was paid as allowances and payments to federal legislators.
In a chat with The Punch, Sani said the revelation earned the anger and distrust of many of his colleagues then, who felt that he should not have disclosed such payment that ought to be kept a secret.
Sani said there were plans to punish and suspend him from the Senate, but it took the intervention of the then Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his then deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, to stop the actions.
He stated that Saraki and Ekeremadu also stepped in to save the Senate because Nigerians would have stormed the National Assembly if he had been penalized and suspended.
He said: “Lawmakers at the National Assembly know that each time they go on a public holiday or recess, there is a certain amount of money that is credited to their accounts. This time, it would not have been controversial if it was done silently.
“I happened to be the first legislator in the history of Nigeria to disclose allowances and payments made to legislators, and I know it came with a price to me because I earned the anger and distrust of many of my colleagues, who felt that I was coming to the National Assembly and should not have unveiled such payment that ought to be done in secret. Well, I did so to clear my own conscience and to send a message to the whole country.
“My defence was that I didn’t say that all of you were getting N13.5m, and I just said that I had been receiving an alert of N13.5m and a salary of N720,000. So, if you are not receiving that, you can tell the world that you are not receiving that.
“But I became an enemy to many of them until later when time took over. I think Bukola Saraki, the then Senate President, saved me because I could have been penalised and suspended from the Senate at that time.
“That time, Saraki and (Ike) Ekweremadu stepped in to ensure that I wasn’t suspended. They also stepped in to save the Senate because if I had been penalised and suspended, Nigerians would have stormed the National Assembly. So, they allowed the matter.”
Sani said he did not regret his action, stressing that he went to the Senate as an activist who was one of those hammering on the humongous amount of money that is paid to legislators.
He added: “I am so happy to have done it. If I had not done it, my conscience would have pricked me forever. I didn’t go to the Senate as a politician; I went there as an activist who went into politics and couldn’t have imagined myself collecting such a humongous amount without saying anything.
“Before I went to the Senate, I was one of those hammering on the humongous amount of money that is paid to legislators, and I found myself receiving that humongous amount. I thought of it as an activist; what would I have become if I had left the Senate without disclosing what I was earning while at the National Assembly? I would have been simply termed a hypocrite.”
There are indications that commercial banks and merchant banks are increasingly depending on the Central Bank of Nigeria for liquidity as their borrowing from the apex bank has intensified in the last eight months of 2023.
Aside from August 2023 ending this week, commercial banks and merchant banks borrowed a total of N12.46tn from the CBN during the first eight months of this year, according to the CBN data accessed by our correspondent.
The financial institutions had in the first eight months of 2022 borrowed N6.96tn from the central bank, representing an increase of 79 per cent.
Commercial banks and merchant banks access lending from the apex bank using the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) window and deposit cash with the apex bank using the Standing Deposit Facility window(SDF).
According to findings, banks during the first eight months of 2023 accessed the SLF window against the backdrop of CBN’s tightening monetary policy stance.
The apex banking regulating body has the SLF, a short-term lending window for commercial banks and merchant banks, to access liquidity to run their day-to-day business operations.
The CBN data obtained by The PUNCH revealed that between January and June this year, commercial banks and merchant banks borrowed N10.25tn from the CBN via the SLF window, an increase of 138 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) from N4.3tn borrowed during the corresponding period of H1 2022.
The CBN data showed that the first quarter figure, which stood at N4.95tn, was higher than the half-year data for 2022.
The monthly breakdown revealed that commercial banks and merchant banks in January borrowed N528.16bn from the CBN but the figure dropped to N453.7bn in February 2023.
In March, it rose significantly by 776.22per cent to N3.98tn, the second highest after the N4.47tn recorded in April 2023.
However, the CBN data showed a N590.29bn and N235.06bn borrowing for May and June 2023.
In addition, SLF’s figure stood at N908.43bn in July and N1.3tn in August.
Commenting on the development, a former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr, Muda Yusuf, said, “This is a reflection of liquidity pressure some of the banks are going through. The facility is typically short term. This may not necessarily indicate that the banks are stressed or unstable. Meanwhile, the recapitalisation of banks is long overdue. The minimum capital requirements of N25 billion is no longer adequate, if discounted for inflation.”
A financial expert at Chapel Hill Denham, Tajudeen Ibrahim, said, “The development points to lack of liquidity on the part of banks. Monetary policy has been tightening and this has led to low liquidity. It is cheaper for banks to borrow from the CBN. This development is not positive but negative. We cannot continue to tighten because it will reflect of economic growth.
The 2023 governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Benue State, Professor Bem Angwe, has said he does not want to be a member of the opposition party again.
Angwe, who was the NNPP’s former National Legal Adviser, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Markurdi, the Benue State capital.
The NNPP chieftain said he resigned as a member due to the recent unfortunate crisis and the confusion that has engulfed the party at all levels, among other reasons.
The former Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said he plans to resume his academic activities and involvement in the protection of human rights in the country.
Angwe, therefore, appreciated all the party executives and members who believed and stood by him during the 2023 gubernatorial election in Benue.
He said: “Considering the recent unfortunate crisis and the confusion that has engulfed the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) at all levels and in accordance with the NNPP Constitution 2022 (as amended), I, on this day of 26th August 2023, withdrew my membership of the NNPP.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I have communicated the notice of my NNPP membership withdrawal to the party Chairman of the Mbatyu NNPP Ward Executive Committee in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State.
“I wish to express my special appreciation to my Ward, LGA and State party Executive members, other party members, supporters and all my well-wishers throughout Benue State and Nigeria as a whole for the great support they accorded me while I was in the party and during my Governorship campaigns as a Gubernatorial Candidate on the platform of the party.”