The suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele has spent his sixth day in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) with the secret police keeping mum over whether he will be charged to court or not.
Emefiele was arrested by the DSS last Friday evening shortly after he was suspended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
On Saturday, DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, confirmed Emefiele was in their custody for investigative reasons.
Though he did not state the reasons, it was gathered Emefiele’s travails had to do with allegations of terrorism and financial impropriety at the apex bank.
The Service last December attempted to get a court order to arrest the CBN Governor over alleged “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
This was however unsuccessful as the court decided the DSS did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims that Emefiele was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.
The Service, it was reported, was expected to approach the court last Tuesday to obtain an order to keep the embattled CBN Boss longer in custody to enable it to carry out a comprehensive interrogation.
However, at of the time of filing this report, it could not be established that such an order had been obtained.
“This is a sensitive matter and I cannot say much. But the DSS is working to ensure it establishes a watertight case on this matter. Investigations are ongoing. I can’t say more for now. Let us watch and see how it unfolds,” the source said.
The DSS also invited Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday.
Afunanya, in a statement late on Wednesday, said Bawa was in custody.
“Bawa arrived a few hours ago. The invitation relates to some investigative activities concerning him,” Afunanya said.
He did not give further details.
Former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, has asked President Bola Tinubu to remove from office the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu.
Agbakoba in a statement, yesterday, said the INEC boss must leave office by resignation or removal, otherwise the electoral reform task in Nigeria would be impeded.
In the statement signed by his Media Assistant, Niyi Odunmorayo, Agbakoba commended the President for getting rid of Godwin Emefiele as governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and AbdulRasheed Bawa as chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
He said: “Full congratulations go to President Tinubu for getting rid of Emefiele and Bawa, fuel subsidy and forex corruption. Endemic corruption has suffered a massive blow.
“Next is for the president to dismantle INEC. Everyone will agree that logistically, the 2023 elections are the worst in our history.
“I do not refer to the merits of the results of the elections. Many results are disputed and are in tribunals. Both petitioners and respondents suffered in the hands of an incompetent INEC.
“As we await rulings from the courts, massive reforms of the electoral framework ought to begin but this means that the INEC chairman will have to leave office by resignation or removal, otherwise the reform task will be impeded.
“I add very quickly that the suggested reforms have nothing to do with the merits of election results at all. Both winners and losers of the elections were victims of the failure of INEC. Confidence in Nigeria’s democracy will be enhanced by a deep cleansing of INEC.”
The election conducted by the present INEC had been described by both local and foreign observers as the worst ever held in the country.
Then President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Yakubu as INEC chair in November 2015 to succeed Attahiru Jega, who supervised the 2015 general elections.
A new World Bank report has explained how trillions of dollars spent on subsidies can save the people and the planet.
The global bank said $577 billion was spent in 2021 to lower the price of polluting fuels, such as oil, gas, and coal.
The report, titled: Detox Development: Repurposing Environmentally Harmful Subsidies, says the subsidies were wasted on agriculture, fishing and fossil fuels.
The report puts the global direct government expenditures in the three sectors as $1.25 trillion a year, adding that redirecting the subsidies could unlock at least $500 billion towards more productive and sustainable uses.
The Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, Axel van Trotsenburg, said: “People say that there isn’t money for climate, but there is – it’s just in the wrong places. If we could repurpose the trillions of dollars being spent on wasteful subsidies and put these to better, greener uses, we could together address many of the planet’s most pressing challenges.”
The problem, a statement by the bank said, is bigger than direct government expenditures.
“The report assesses the harmful impact of implicit subsidies, which amount to $6 trillion each year. These represent the costs on people and the planet from pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, road congestion, and the destruction of nature ultimately resulting from the subsidies.
“In agriculture, direct subsidies of more than $635 billion a year are driving the excessive use of fertilisers that degrade soil and water and harm human health. Subsidies for products, such as soybeans, palm oil, and beef, cause farmers to push into the forest frontier and are responsible for 14 per cent of forest loss every year.
“Fisheries subsidies, which exceed $35 billion each year, are a key driver of dwindling fish stocks, oversized fishing fleets, and falling profitability. With more than 1 billion poor people obtaining most of their animal protein from fish, it is critical that the world’s fish stocks are restored to healthy status.
“The burning of oil, gas, and coal causes 7 million premature deaths a year around the world through the bad air that people must breathe. The burden falls mostly on the poor,” the bank said.
The World Bank’s Chief Economist of the Sustainable Development Practice Group, Richard Damania, said: “With foresight and planning, repurposing subsidies can provide more resources to give people a better quality of life and to ensure a better future for our planet.
“Much is already known about best practices for subsidy reform, but implementing these practices is no easy feat due to entrenched interests, challenging political dynamics, and other barriers.”
As Naira Exchanges At 702.19 To Dollar At Investors, Exporters Window
Traders said Thursday that demand for dollars at the black market has dropped after Nigeria’s bold move yesterday to float the naira.
The drop in demand in the black market comes as no surprise as several businesses that had turned to that market after being starved of dollars at the official market will now return to the official market for transactions.
That’s after the CBN directed commercial banks to start selling forex freely at market-determined rates in a breakaway from years of fixing the price. The naira fell to as low as N755/$ on the official window before closing at N664/$.
The move is expected to deepen liquidity in the official market and reduce transactions in the black market.
The lower demand in the black market hasn’t started reflecting significantly on prices with traders quoting the dollar at N760 Thursday.
With the current exchange rate, the gap between the official and parallel market has dropped to 96 from 301 previously.
Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, said rate unification does not imply that rates will be exactly the same in all segments of the market.
According to him, the objective is to ensure that the differentials are very minimal, possibly between 5-10 percent.
“it is important to reiterate that this is not a devaluation policy, it is a normalization of the foreign exchange policy regime and an adjustment of rate to reflect the fundamentals of demand and supply. It would be dynamic; and the naira will appreciate or depreciate depending on the fundamentals,” Yusuf said.
“In the short term, we expect a depreciation of the currency in the official window because of the huge demand backlog. But as the market conditions normalizes and moves towards equilibrium, the rate would moderate.
“We also expect the new policy regime to boost inflows and strengthen the supply side amidst elevated investors’ confidence. The component of forex demand driven by arbitrage, rent seekers, speculators and other economic parasites would also fizzle out, thus restoring stability to the forex market,” he said.
Meanwhile, naira traded as high as 790 to the dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window on Thursday — about 24 hours after the float of the local currency.
However, the naira appreciated after hitting a record low at the FMDQ trading platform to close at 702 to the dollar.
The market rate is expected to maintain a “willing buyer, willing seller” arrangement forthwith.
The United States Senate has confirmed Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, President Biden’s nominee for a federal judgeship in New York, making her the nation’s first Muslim woman to serve as a federal judge.
Choudhury, a Bangladeshi-American, will serve the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.
She was confirmed on Thursday in a 50-49 vote, with Senator Joe Manchin the only Democrat to vote against her confirmation.
Before being nominated to the bench by Biden in January 2022, Choudhury spent her entire legal career with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She was most recently the legal director of the ACLU of Illinois.
She previously worked with the ACLU’s racial justice programme, filing lawsuits fighting racial discrimination around the country. That included against the federal government — charging the FBI “no-fly-list” violated due process — and against the New York Police Department over alleged discriminatory practices, among others.
Choudhury’s confirmation has been lauded by Muslim-American advocacy groups. She is the second Muslim to be confirmed to the federal bench after Zahid Quraishi in 2021.
“Representation matters. Too long, Muslim women in this country have not been adequately heard by the courts, leading to decisions such as an employer allowing discrimination against women wearing hijab because of the fear their customers might be Islamophobic,” Justin Sadowsky, a trial lawyer for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement.
“Choudhury has a long history of commitment to the civil rights not only of Muslims but of all Americans,” he added.
“We welcome the confirmation of Nusrat Jahan Choudhury as a clear statement that American Muslims are part of the fabric of our society at all levels and that our judiciary is increasingly diverse,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
(THEHILL)
The lead counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party at the ongoing Enugu governorship election petition tribunal, Chief Wale Olanikpekun, Friday, prayed the court to quash the petition seeking the disqualification of the state governor, Mr Peter Mbah, over an alleged forgery of his NYSC certificate.
Mbah is the second respondent in the petition filed by Labour Party’s guber candidate in the 2023 elections in the state, Barr Chijioke Edeoga.
Chief Olanikpekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who led a team comprising Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, stated that the Section 177 of the constitution provides the qualifications to run, and that the discharge certificate of the National Youth Service Corps was not stated, hence the incompetency of the petitioner.
According to him, “NYSC participation or non-participation may not be the ground to disqualify the second respondent.” He quoted the case between Agi against the Peoples Democratic Party to justify his prayers.
He further averred that the state election petition tribunal has no jurisdiction to disqualify the second respondent because the matter partaining to the alleged forgery of the NYSC was ‘a pre-election matter’. He therefore asked: ‘is NYSC certificate part of the qualifications?’.
MJ Numa, counsel to the petitioner, argued that the section 177 of the constitution, which Chief Olanikpekun relied on, ‘does not stop the second respondent from being disqualified based on Section 182 of the constituion, hence the petition should be adopted’. According to him, “Issues are premised on merit. It borders on the substance of the petition holistically.”
The counsel to the state governor, Mr Tochukwu Maduka, prayed the court to quash the petition on forgery on the basis that the second respondent is challenging the National Youth Service Corps on the certificate it allegedly issued to him.
He argued that because the matter was already at the Appeal Court, that the tribunal had no jurisdiction to entertain the case, hence prayed the court to strike it out. His submission was supported by the counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mr SI Okolie.
Numa argued however that there is no appeal on the subject matter. He also argued that the FCT High Court does not have the jurisdiction to entertain the matter. He said the tribunal and the FCT High Court are coordinate in nature.
Recall that an FCT High Court had earlier restained NYSC from issuing clarifications on Mbah’s NYSC discharge certificate.
When asked by the trial judge if the matter has been appealed, the counsel said NYSC appealed, hence ‘there is an appeal’. According to him, “The tribunal has no jurisdiction to entertain the matter already decided by the FCT High Court, and on appeal.”
It became a drama when Mbah’s lawyer submitted that ‘the FCT High Court discovered that the certificate was not forged’, bit could not prove it.
The trial judge fixed the continuation of the pre-hearing on 22/6/23. However, she held that the ruling on the forgery would be when the judgement would be delivered.
The removal of fuel subsidy as announced by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, has reduced the daily consumption of petrol by Nigerians from 65 million to 40 million, Vanguard reports.
This was revealed by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, after the inauguration of the National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Earlier, Tinubu addressed the NEC saying he would accept collaboration in governance to address the economy and improve the welfare of the Nigerian people, adding that he would not be an excuse for failure.
Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi State said the government deliberated and looked at all the issues on subsidy removal, the challenges and problems holistically and set up a small committee of the council to review and come up with a term of reference that will help to alleviate the problem of workers and other vulnerable groups.
According to him, the committee is composed of Governors of Kebbi state, as Chairman, Anambra representing the South East geopolitical zone. Benue North Central, Kaduna Northwest, Bauchi, representing the northeast, Cross River, South-South and Oyo state Southwest.
Speaking after the meeting, Otti said, “As part of the inaugural national economic council meeting today, the major focus was on the removal of petroleum subsidy and implied the removal of subsidy on foreign exchange, which has led to some convergence of some sort.
“The impact of these two actions definitely is increased prices. And as a way to solve the problem and reduce the shock, a presentation was made by the National Automotive Design and Development Council on the great things that are happening in the automotive industry.
“It was that about six states in the country, including Lagos, Ogun, Anambra, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna and Kano that have benefited from domestic production of vehicles or assembling of vehicles by Nigerian companies operating in Nigeria. And these companies include INNOSON, Maikano, Dangote Peugeot, Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria, Stallion Hyundai, Honda, Elizade/Toyota, Coscharis and Ford, Kojo Motors, Jet Systems motors.”
While he said Tinubu’s administration should be commended for its efforts to remove subsidy and still help create palliatives, Otti disclosed that the consumption of fuel has reduced in the country.
“But we must salute the courage of the current government to bite the bullet and remove it. Initially, it had reduced the consumption from about 66, 67 million litres a day to just about 40 million. And as time goes on, the consumption will continue to go down.
“We know there are implications, particularly for the poorest of the poor. And that is why this government is seriously looking at palliatives to at least deal with the shock that the poor of our society goes through,“ Otti said.
The 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), for students in both Public and Private Junior Secondary Schools in Ogun State, has been scheduled for Monday, June 19 to Monday, June 26, 2023.
A release signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Abosede Ogunleye indicated that any candidate who did not register online for the exercise would not be allowed to write the examination.
The release stated that the Ministry had put necessary machinery in place to ensure hitch-free conduct of the examination, urging the principals to make adequate arrangements for the successful conduct of the examination in their various schools.
It enjoined the candidates to comport themselves during the period of the examination.
The nation’s number anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has reportedly invited eight former ministers, who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Sources disclosed that the eight former minister were all invited for questioning over allegations bordering on corruption.
The invitation letters, according to sources, requested the former top government officials to come and explain how they spent funds allocated to their ministries on some designated projects when they held sway at their respective positions.
Daily Trust reports that the letter were extended to the former ministers before the suspension of Abdulrasheed Bawa as chairman of the commission. The anti-graft agency had commenced investigations.
The source said apart from the former minister of Women’s Affairs, Pauline Tallen, who was invited last week over alleged N2bn fraud and “part of the money allegedly diverted from the African First Lady Peace Mission Project,” about seven others have also been invited.
It would be recalled that Sale Mamman, also a former minister of power under former President Buhari, was last month arrested and detained by the commission in connection with an alleged N22 billion fraud related to power projects.
Also, it was learnt that the immediate past minister of police affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has also been summoned over how the Police Trust Fund was handled.
Speaking further on condition of anonymity, the source said Dingyadi would provide answers to allegations of purchasing refurbished vehicles for the Nigeria Police as new.
“Well, I’m not aware of the letter, I’ve not seen it. Maybe they sent it to the office, I will inquire from the office”, the minister of police affairs, Dingyadi, said in a phone conversation with the aforementioned platform.
The former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and the immediate past Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, were also invited by the anti-graft agency.
A former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has denied reports of an invitation extended to him by the Economic and Financial Crimes punctured (EFCC), saying he would honour such an invitation.
Reports had emerged claiming Malami fled the country to evade arrest and investigation following the suspension of the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bawa’s suspension had raised dust about the stewardship of Malami, with the former Minister highly recommending the suspension anti-corruption agency boss.
A source at the EFCC told Daily Trust that the anti-graft agency was interested in finding out from Malami the alleged loss of over $2.4 billion in revenue from the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil export in 2015, including all crude oil exports and sales by Nigeria from 2014 till date.
While disclosing that the former minister has been invited, the source added that there are other issues the former attorney-general of the federation would respond to when he finally honours the invitation.
But in an exclusive interview last night, Malami swiftly denied receiving any invitation from the EFCC.
He said, “I have not been invited by the EFCC or any other anti-corruption agency in Nigeria. I’m available in Nigeria and attending a wedding Fatiha slated for 2.30 at Sheikh Isiyaka Rabi’u Mosque, Kano, tomorrow (today).
“I have no plan of leaving Nigeria, and I will gladly honour any invitation extended to me by any agency of government. I’m a true Nigerian, and I believe in the Nigerian project.
“I will make myself available to Nigeria and its institutions on demand.”
More...
A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his economic reforms since his assumption of office.
Saniu gave the commendation on Thursday while speaking with State House Correspondents after a paid a courtesy visit to the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The former Emir of Kano, who said he was on a solidarity mission to the State House, asserted that the economic decisions taken so far by the President are long overdue.
Sanusi also commended the President for solving the double-hedged problems of fuel subsidy and multiple exchange rate regimes, among other reforms.
He said: “The first reason was to come and congratulate him formally, but also because I wear many caps, I wear the cap of an economist so I came to thank him for the steps he has taken to put this economy on course.
“As you know many of the issues that we’ve been talking about; the subsidy that has cause a hemorrhage on the fiscal’s, the multiple exchange rates regime and on. These are issues that I have personally been talking about for a long time and I’m happy that on his very first day, he has addressed these issues and the markets are happy.
“It’s important when the government does the right thing for us to give them feedback. It’s not always when they do the wrong thing that we complain. So, he has started on such a strong footing and as far as the economy is concerned, we have to come and support and encourage that we continue along that path and be advocates for the policies he has pursued.”
Naija News reports that Sanusi stated this hours after the apex bank announced some immediate changes to operations in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Market.
In a statement on Wednesday signed by the Director of the Financial NarketsDepartment, Angela Sere-Ejembi, the CBN announced the cessation of the RT200 rebate scheme and the Naira4Dollar remittance scheme, with effect from June 30.
The statement also included new guidelines for the operation of the foreign exchange market in the country.
According to the CBN, further guidance on the changes will be communicated in due course but all market participants and the general public are enjoined to abide by the rules.
Media
The details of the meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the former Military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, have emerged.
The former Nigerian leader arrived at the President Villa around 12:15 pm on Thursday and was received by President Tinubu after which both leaders moved to the president’s office for a meeting.
Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, Abubakar called on Nigerians to support the President in his effort to rid the country of the burden of fuel subsidy.
The former head of state also appealed to Nigerians to work together for the growth and development of the country and give peace a chance.
He said: “Let us all give peace a chance, it’s absolutely necessary because if there’s no peace, there’s no country. In Nigeria, there’s enough for everybody, I will like us to try to be each other’s keepers, to put our hands on the deck to move the country forward.”
Speaking further, Abubakar commended President Tinubu for removing the fuel subsidy and asked Nigerians to help him to make sure that he succeeds.
He added: “This subsidy issue has been on and off, but Mr. President has taken a decision to remove it and I hope we’ll all see how to help him to make sure that he succeeds.”
The federal government has described the redeployment of some permanent secretaries shortly before former President Muhammadu Buhari handed over to President Bola Tinubu as a routine exercise.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan made this known in a reaction to trending rumours that the redeployment was secretly done for some ulterior motives, particularly at a time there was going to be a change in government.
Naija News gathered that there have been complaints from some quarters that the HoCSF carried out a secret redeployment of some federal permanent secretaries a few days before the end of the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Those affected included Dr Shuaib Belgore who was redeployed from the Ministry of Interior to Niger Delta Affairs; Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade redeployed from Mines and Steel Development to the Ministry of Interior; and Mr James Sule, redeployed from Cabinet Affairs Office to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
“The fact that the exercise was not announced, kept a secret, and those affected were simply invited to the office of the HoCSF to receive their letters,” Daily Trust quoted a senior government official to have said.
But reacting to the development, the Director, Press and Public Relations in the Office of the HoCSF, Mr Mohammed Ahmed, said it is not compulsory to issue press releases on such re-deployment, adding that what happened was purely a routine administrative work and has nothing to do with a change in government.
“It is not every time that we issue press releases on such re-deployment, is it not a routine administrative work? This is a rumour. Does the re-deployment of permanent secretaries have anything to do with the change in government?
“It is a routine administrative exercise. Permanent secretaries were appointed at the twilight of the previous administration. This has nothing to do with change in government,” he said.
The former interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande has told Nigerians to expect good governance and a rejigging of the APC from President Bola Tinubu.
The elder statesman made the declaration on Thursday while speaking with state house correspondents shortly after a meeting with the President at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
In his words, “People will expect the rejigging of our party, the APC, and the re-establishment of good governance in Nigeria. And it should go on record that the APC brings good governance to Nigeria.”
Asked by the newsmen to assess the performance of the Tinubu government in office within the few days of assuming power, Akande gave a thumbs up, saying the people are happy and that’s why he can visit the President during the day time.
He said: “Oh! I merely watch the perception of the country, very excellent. People are happy with him. And that is why I boldly come during day time (smile).”
On his advice to the President, the APC chieftain submitted that it is not yet time for advice.
“It’s not yet time for advice. We are watching him do good. Nigerians are happy. By the time we hear any complaint, the time will be ripe enough for giving president advice,” Chief Akande said.
On what transpired between him and the president, Akande said he came to say hello and during the visit, he noticed that the President’s schedule can be quite busy.
According to him, they joked, chatted, and prayed for Nigeria.
“I am a village man from Osun State. Now that the president is in the city, I think I should come and see the way he lives. When I got to his house, they said he is in the office and I decided to come and say hello to him. I see that he can be very busy.
“I asked him, when will they create a Camp David in Nigeria where President will go to rest. I met him. We joked, chatted and prayed for Nigeria,” he submitted.