The 6 September 2023 judgement by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) was honestly not unexpected. While the judgment did not come to me as a surprise, what rather jolted me was the manner in which it was framed: it was almost as if the judges were the attorneys for the defendants and were therefore visibly angry with the petitioners and their lawyers for daring to bring such petitions before them. The judgments, whatever their merits on points of law, were delivered in very pedantic, if not condescending manner to the petitioners.

Let me mention that I am not a lawyer (though, in addition to my academic qualifications in Political Science and Development Studies, I also have an LLM degree in Media Law from a respected London University). But I am a student of Nigerian election history and have also read some remarkable judgments by famous jurists. Additionally, as a publisher of twenty years standing, with an indexed, peer-reviewed academic law journal (African Journal of Law and Justice System) in its portfolio of 21 journals, it can be argued that while not an expert in Law, I have been sufficiently exposed to judicial decisions and their interactions with politics. I also followed closely the conduct of the 25 February 2023 presidential elections, including field reports by several media houses and credible election monitors. I was in fact one of the analysts on the February and March 2023 elections for a respected television house in the country. Based on these, I believe I have what can be called an informed layman’s opinion on this matter.

I believed (and still hold to that belief) that the conduct of the Presidential election was neither free nor fair and that INEC so seriously underperformed that Professor Mahmood Yakubu remaining on as the Chairman of INEC rubs the electoral body of both integrity and legitimacy. What I was not sure of, (and still not sure of), was whether the observed irregularities in the conduct of the presidential election were enough to alter its outcome as declared by INEC.

Before the judgment I had wagered on a split decision in favour of Bola Tinubu. That was not necessarily because I felt that Tinubu won but because I know it is extremely difficult to unseat a sitting African President, especially one who is generally believed would not be averse to maximally deploying the power of incumbency to achieve a given objective.

Largely because of the closeness of the elections as declared by INEC and the irregularities observed by several election monitors and media houses, I thought there would be a deliberate effort to mollify the petitioners by making the judgment seem close. In taking this position I borrowed from one of the mythical manoeuvres of the tortoise in Igbo fables. In one of such stories, some people came to abduct Mr Tortoise in the middle of the night from the enclosure which served as his home. Seeing that he stood no chance of effective resistance against them, he requested that they should allow him some minutes to pray before being taken away – a request they obliged him. As the Tortoise walked around the enclosure in supposed prayers, he made sure he left deep foot and finger prints everywhere, after which he told his would be captors that he was ready for them to take him away.

As Mr Tortoise was being taken away by his captors, he felt silently satisfied that he was allowed to leave a piece of history for posterity. His belief was if his children and friends came the following morning and found he had been abducted, they would believe he had put up a hell of a fight before he was overpowered.

In essence, the decision by both Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar to head to the Supreme Court may go beyond the quest to restore what they see as their ‘stolen mandate’ but more for the purposes of history. It is also their constitutional right to exhaust all legitimate options for seeking redress. Some have called on them to ‘do a Jonathan’ and congratulate Tinubu in the “interest of the nation’ so that the rancour between their supporters and those of Tinubu (which is believed to be heating up the polity) will presumably be attenuated. I am not sure if this is a good enough reason to dissuade them from their decision to take their case to the Supreme Court because despite Jonathan conceding defeat, Bihari spent most of his eight years in power demonizing and de-marketing his government as well as polarizing the country between those they labelled ‘Wailing Wailers’ and those who are supposedly ‘patriotic’ because they unabashedly supported his government. In fact some even claimed that Jonathan conceded defeat out of fear or cowardice and caricatured him for that.

Obi and Atiku have also been advised that going to the Supreme Court would be a waste of their money because the outcome might not be different, not just because the decision was unanimous but also because if power of incumbency accounted for the manner in which the judgment was delivered by the PEPT as some argued, the same power of incumbency would likely also be in play at the Supreme Court. A counterpoise to this however is that the petitioners can comfortably afford the cost and in any case you never know because no venture, no success. What is also often overlooked is that their decision to go to Supreme Court will not only help to enrich our jurisprudence but might have helped to stave off violence by those who felt dissatisfied by the decision.

Why was the judgment of the PEPT greeted mostly by silence? While an over-hyped Asari Dokubo and his Wagner-wannabe boys (who celebrate their macho by swaggering around town with palm fronds in their mouths when their age-mates elsewhere are distinguishing themselves in critical professions and emerging technologies) would like to claim credit for this, I doubt if the macho display of his boys was responsible for the quiescence. The way I see it is that a self-reproducing constituency in the South-West, (in particular Lagos), which has been the hub of Nigeria’s protest movement and political activism (from as early as 1908 when the Peoples Union was formed), and has been the inspiration or funders of many popular protests in the country, went quiet since 2015 when the zone aligned itself with the ruling APC. This meant that unpopular policies that would have elicited wide national protests such as the fuel price hikes under both Buhari lacked the support of those with the skills and resources to activate such protests. It was not Asari Dokubo that prevented popular protests against Buhari’s unpopular policies so Asari so Dokubo cannot claim credit for suppressing any protest
There are several important lessons from the judgement by the PEPT:

One, it will be important for all election petitions to be concluded before the inauguration of the President – and in fact all elected officials. This is because allowing the President to be inaugurated while the election that brought him to power is still being contested in the courts (in our type of democracy) means that such a President can maximally deploy the power of incumbency to consolidate his rule and make it more difficult for him to be unseated by the courts.

Two, we need to revisit our democracy with a view to domesticating it to our unique environment. I do not think the current liberal democracy is working for the country. Not only is it prohibitively expensive, elections, as currently conducted, deepen our fault lines and consequently complicate the nation-building process.

Three, I will recommend proportional representation – as against the current first –past- the -post or winner- takes- all. This means that seats in the legislature will be allotted based on the votes secured by new forms of political parties that will be created.

Four, we should have a collegial Presidency, with five Vice Presidents and a Rotational presidency of two years each in which the six geopolitical zones will be represented, It should be a single tenure of twelve years for the Presidency. I feel that presidential election every four years is not spaced out enough for the wounds from one election to properly heal before another set of election is embarked upon. I feel that party politics as currently practised alienates many citizens, which explains both low citizen participation in the process and why many citizens unwisely troop out to welcome a military coups in some countries.

Essentially we need a Committee to recommend new democratic models of governance for the country, which will then be debated in a new Constituent Assembly.

For more than a week, President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s chief foreign policy officer has been on a diplomatic offensive to New Delhi, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit hosted by India, and from Bharat, as that country is otherwise known, he has had a quick diplomatic stop-over in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Next week, he goes off to New York, United States for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). When Tinubu returns to Nigeria, before he goes off to New York, his handlers would have more than enough to crow about and a lot of chest-beating to do. I imagine that following the ruling in his favour by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, on Wednesday, September 6, we can legitimately expect a loud and heavy display of triumphalism, sycophancy, self-congratulation and advertisements by Tinubu/APC supporters for whom modesty is a strange word, but the more sober ones among them would probably point to how Tinubu seems to be succeeding on the foreign policy front.

In less than 100 days in office, he was elected Chairman of ECOWAS, and has had to lead the charge in managing the Niger coup crisis, even if roughly, in June, he also attended a France-Africa summit in Paris, an African Union summit in Nairobi in July, and now he has gone to India, and the United Arab Emirates. Beyond the assertion of political, and diplomatic influence, and a claw at legitimacy in a local “emilokan” style, whether you like it or not, big photo ops on the world stage, big opportunity to showcase Nigeria and the new administration, the main narrative has been that President Tinubu has been attracting investment to the country. In India, the total pledge by Indian investors was put at $14 billion. It is this drive for investment that connects President Tinubu’s foreign excursions as covert text, and it was the same also in the UAE. But I keep adding the caveat that pledges would not translate into anything, beyond the ink on the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) that Nigeria signs here and there, if these pledges do not yield concrete outcomes. Nigeria is very good at signing documents and taking photos. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials are very good at organizing ceremonies for any President who likes to stage shows; in any case, the current “City Boy, Eko For Show” President would jump at any opportunity to hug the limelight. But ceremonies and photo-ops would take Nigeria nowhere. Nigerians need follow-ups. We need a Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) that can turn pledges into opportunities.

We need to be reminded that domestic policy drives foreign policy. Investors are not in the business of charity. The gulf between them and the Red Cross is the widest in the world. They are interested in profit and opportunities. For the pledges that have been made to be redeemable, President Tinubu must meet the existing and prospective investors half-way, by keeping his part of the bargain to wit: his promise that Nigeria would provide very good returns on investments, that is ROI, the bottom line in the age of capitalism. Investors want to minimize risk. Nigeria is a risk-laden investment destination. Investors cannot repatriate their funds. The country’s foreign exchange regime is unpredictable. The country’s CBN Governor has been suspended. He is in detention. The interim CBN Governor is exactly not in a position to make far-reaching decisions, so the CBN is busy experimenting with monetary policies. Professor Pat Utomi once wrote a successful book titled “Managing Uncertainty: Competition and Strategy in Emerging Economies”, (Ibadan: Spectrum Books, 1998, 465 pp). If Nigeria’s economy was walking with the aid of walking sticks at the time Utomi wrote that book, its fortunes are now so uncertain, the economy having suffered multiple strokes, it is now in a wheel-chair. This is what Tinubu has inherited, and what he must do something about beyond all these high-profile photo opportunities around the globe.

His recent diplomatic shuttle has however provided one bright indicator that should not be ignored, and that is the outcome of his trip to the United Arab Emirates. It is one achievement that we can touch and perhaps feel. It will be recalled that the Presidency informed us that the purpose of the Abu Dhabi stop-over was to get the United Arab Emirates to lift the visa ban on Nigerians and to ensure that Emirates Airlines, the kingdom’s airliner lifts its suspension of flights to Nigeria. The third shopping item in the basket was to hunt for investments in agriculture, defence and other areas. By yesterday evening, we had been told that after meetings with Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the Emir of Abu Dhabi, President Tinubu was able to secure the lifting of visa ban on Nigerians, and the immediate restoration of flight activity to Nigeria by Emirates Airlines without “any immediate payment by the Nigerian government.” Kudos. Kudos. Kudos. This achievement is all the more remarkable because Tinubu has just scored victory where his predecessor in office failed. What has happened is a teachable moment in leadership and diplomacy.

A bit of the background is necessary. In 2021, the Emirates airlines and the UAE had insisted on administering rapid antigen tests on Nigerians visiting the UAE which resulted in a diplomatic row. Subsequently, Emirates Airlines also raised questions about its inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria. Further, on October 18, 2022, the UAE banned nationals from about 20 African countries from entering its major city, Dubai, Nigeria inclusive alongside other countries like Benin Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Uganda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Burkina Faso. As the drama unfolded, in February 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu’s predecessor placed a phone call to Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE to condole with him on the death of his mother -in-law and he used the opportunity to bring up the matter of the blanket visa ban on Nigerians intending to travel to the UAE. The major revelation of that bilateral move was that many Nigerians go to the UAE illegally and in flagrant violation of the laws of the Kingdom. Buhari at the time, also asked for a resumption of the suspended operations of the Emirates Airlines. This is where Tinubu has now gained victory. Etihad and Emirates Airlines can now resume flight schedules in and out of Nigeria. Many Nigerians for whom Dubai is a favourite trade, tourism and medical destination are now jubilant. Dubai is an attractive destination because of leadership and vision. Nigerians are rushing to Dubai and hustling for visas to the UAE because their own country has not met their expectations. For the benefit of those who would start touting Tinubu’ s UAE mission as a big deal, they need to be cautioned that there are other sides to the story especially with regard to the aviation sector.

Where is Nigeria’s strategic interest in the aviation sector in this matter under review? Has the interest of Nigeria’s aviation sector been served? When Tinubu assumed office, there have, indeed, been some activities in the aviation sector. One, he changed the nomenclature of the Ministry from Ministry of Aviation to Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development. Two, he appointed Festus Keyamo as Minister. Three, Keyamo visited the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and on the spur of the moment, he shut down the old international terminal at the airport and ordered a move to the new terminal to allow for renovations. Many stakeholders in the aviation sector have complained that they were not consulted. In fact, they were ignored after a fashion. The effect of that is the on-going nightmare at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Travellers arriving at the airport have to be bus-driven from the old terminal to the new terminal. It is the same bus that is used to ferry people, that is also used to move luggage. Immigration processes are slow. It could take up to four hours before persons can go through immigration to the luggage point to the exit. This is a clear case of acting before thinking! Similarly, it is doubtful if anyone made the effort to consult with industry stakeholders before reaching agreements with the UAE.

In 2022, airline operators of Nigeria, the AON, objected strongly to protests by foreign airlines, including Emirates, that they had not been able to repatriate $464 million of their revenue out of Nigeria in line with the Bilateral Service Agreement (BASA). The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time announced the release of $265 million to foreign airlines through special FX intervention. Nigerian airline operators protested. They objected to foreign airlines being given preferential treatment when local airlines were suffering. Till date, Nigerian local airline operators are still protesting. Nigeria has an obligation to look out for their interest. Foreign airlines enjoy flight frequencies that are not available to Nigerian airlines under BASA. Nigeria is a big market. Even with the economic hardship today, flights in and out of Nigeria are still fully booked, and yet Nigerian airlines are short-changed. No serious-minded country does that. Every day, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways make humongous amounts of money on the Nigerian route. No Nigerian airline is on the London route. No Nigerian airline is allowed to enjoy full BASA rights in the UAE. The Central Bank of Nigeria was talking about special FX intervention for foreign airlines, but the same CBN is sitting on about $14 billion belonging to Air Peace. At the 2023 NBA Conference in Abuja, the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema brought up the matter.

What has been done to other local airlines is worse, indeed a criminal act of economic sabotage. Take what the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has done to Arik Air. Established in October 2006, by Sir Arumemi Ikhide-Johnson, formerly of GT, Arik soon became the dominant airline within the Nigerian aerospace creating jobs and building opportunities for Nigerians. At the height of its glory, Arik Air had flights to London, Madrid, Atlanta, Miami, Birmingham, Johannesburg, Dubai, and the Caribbeans. By 2012, it had transported over 10 million passengers. In February 2017, the airline was taken over by AMCON and handed over to receiver-managers on grounds that have become subjects of contention in courts of law. AMCON and the receiver-managers claimed that there were debts running into about N24 billion to be recovered, but six years later under their watch, they have turned Arik Air into a shadow of its former self, killing the dream that created it. What really happened was that in 2010, the CBN announced a sudden change of policy whereby foreign loans with local guarantees hitherto treated as off balance sheet were arbitrarily converted to on balance sheet local loans. This was done without negotiation or consultation with Arik Air. All efforts to secure an amicable settlement between the shareholders and AMCON have so far failed. The story of Arik Air is similar to that of Aero Contractors, also under the grips of AMCON.

It is worth stressing that AMCON was established in July 2010 to help Nigerian banks address the challenge of non-performing loans and thereby ensure stability within the financial system, and hence prevent a descent into crisis. It was given a lifespan of 10 years. The Act was further amended in 2015, 2019 and 2021. More than 10 years after its creation, AMCON has proven to be worse than the problem it was meant to correct. It has accumulated more debt than the same companies it was meant to rejuvenate. Its receiver-managers have not made any significance difference as seen in the gross mismanagement of the two examples already cited. What has been writ large is the resort to name-calling, ethnic politics, and persecution by an agency of government established with more ennobling expectations. AMCON was meant to revive and re-engineer businesses. Rather it kills them. Its disposal of assets has been more controversial than transparent. The agency may well claim achievements in other aspects of its operations: oil and gas, finance, general commerce, capital market and manufacturing, our argument is that at first blush, its intervention in the aviation sector has been catastrophic.

It is for this reason that we urge President Tinubu focusing on the aviation sector and aerospace development to take a closer and critical look at AMCON and the interest of stakeholders in that industry - from the plight of domestic airlines under receivership and allegations of prejudice and mistreatment, to the structure of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), security matters, and the state of Nigeria’s airports. Besides, AMCON has lived far beyond its sunset clause, and yet it has not truly served its purpose. It is tied down by litigation. The various amendments to the Enabling Act have not made any difference. One of the more pressing matters for the Tinubu administration is to investigate AMCON and its relevance and impact or non-impact so far, and seek to ensure that those who have been wounded by the politicization of the special purpose vehicle get justice.

This would mean taking the aviation sector beyond the routine measure of airport renovation, and vacuous rhetoric, something which every new Aviation Minister embarks upon under the guise of bringing our international airports up to an international standard. Contracts would be awarded. Equipment would be procured. Tapes would be cut. Six months down the line, the newly refurbished toilets would be shut down due to lack of proper maintenance. The luggage carousel will stop working, along with the air conditioning and other facilities. The roof of the newly touched up building could even start leaking. Enough of the window-dressing. There are more fundamental issues to be addressed, the full extent could only emerge in national interest through due consultation with industry stakeholders, at the heart of which is the security of investments and the certainty of policy.

The Naira on Monday lost against the Dollar as it exchanged at N773.50 at the Investors and Exporters window.

The local currency depreciated by 7.08 per cent against the N736.62 it exchanged for the dollar on Sept. 8.

The open indicative rate closed at N771.49 to the Dollar on Monday.

A spot exchange rate of N804.15 to the Dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading before it settled at N773.50.

The naira sold for as low as N722.39 to the Dollar within the day’s trading.

A total of 37.86 million dollars was traded at the investors and exporters window on Monday

The Central Bank of Nigeria may be asked to withdraw its audited annual financial reports which were released last month, according to findings by The PUNCH.

This came after a team investigating the apex bank discovered discrepancies and irregularities in the financial accounts.

In August, the CBN released its financial accounts for the years 2016 to 2022 amid an ongoing probe of the financial services sector regulator by a Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu had on July 28 appointed a former Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee, as Special Investigator to probe the activities of the apex bank under its suspended governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Aside from the CBN, the Special Investigator is also investigating the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, FRC and other Government Business Entities.

The President, in the letter which he personally signed, said the move was in continuation of the government’s anti-corruption fight.

The letter, dated July 28, 2023, read, “In accordance with the fundamental objectives set forth in Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), this administration is, today, continuing the fight against corruption by appointing you as a Special Investigator, to investigate the CBN and Related Entities. This appointment shall be with immediate effect and you are to report directly to my office.

“The full terms of your engagement as Special Investigator shall be communicated to you in due course but require that you immediately take steps to ensure the strengthening and probity of key Government Business Entities, further block leakages in CBN and related GBEs and provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments (whether private or public).

“You are to investigate the CBN and related entities using a suitably experienced, competent and capable team and work with relevant security and anti-corruption agencies to deliver on this assignment. I shall expect a weekly briefing on the progress being made.”

The President also attached a copy of his directive suspending Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the CBN on June 9, 2023.

According to findings by The PUNCH, the CBN Special Investigator is working with a team of accountants, auditors, and forensic accountants to carry out the investigation.

Meanwhile, it was gathered on Monday that the CBN might be asked to withdraw its seven-year audited financial account reports (spanning 2016 to 2022) over allegations of containing inaccurate and false data.

Multiple sources close to the investigation said a presidential approval would soon be obtained to enable the relevant agency (FRC) to order the CBN to withdraw the controversial financial accounts.

Top sources close to the Special Investigator and his team said while the CBN financial accounts were not prepared using the International Financial Reporting Standards 9, which demands full disclosure of all financial transactions, the apex bank allegedly used guidelines purportedly obtained from the FRC in a controversial manner to prepare the financial accounts.

It was further learnt that the CBN allegedly paid N401.75m to IFRS Academy for the guidelines used in preparing the accounts.

“As a government institution, if you are getting any revenue, you are meant to pay it into Treasury Single Account from which certain percentage will be deducted for the government. According to documents, the N401m paid by the CBN for the accounting guidelines between 2016 and 2022 was paid into IFRS Academy account. The academy is a limited guarantee company set up by the FRC to train people in IFRS accounting,” a top official close to the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged.

“The issue is that the guidelines used in preparing the CBN accounts between 2016 and 2022 were not supposed to be paid for. Also, any accounting guidelines issued by the FRC are meant to be approved by its board and published on its website. These things were not done. The reason IFRS 9 was being avoided is to understate figures,” the official added.

Other officials close to the investigation, who spoke with The PUNCH, also claimed it was wrong to give the FRC accounting guidelines to external organisations.

As a result, it was learnt the Special Investigator team had included its recommendations that presidential approval be given to the FRC to order the CBN to withdraw the released annual financial accounts between 2016 and 2022.

“The team has also invited the auditors that prepared the accounts for questioning. Some of the data contained in the CBN financial accounts cannot be relied upon as far as the team carrying out the investigation is concerned. Once the President approves, the CBN will be asked to withdraw the accounts in order to prepare new ones using the proper accounting methodology and standards,” another official close to the team said.

Meanwhile, findings have shown that Department of State Services may invite the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of FRC, Shuaibu Ahmed, and some top officials of the agency for questioning.

Also, the Special Investigator and his team are expected to question officials of the FRC for allegations bothering on the controversial accounting guidelines used by the CBN, among other issues.

Already, the DSS has quizzed some deputy governors of the CBN as the investigation continues.

Also, It was learnt that more cases involving Emefiele might soon be revealed in court sessions.

Tinubu had on July 28 directed the CBN Special Investigator to work with security and anti-corruption agencies to provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments, whether private or public.

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Economists and civil society organisations are divided over the probe of the CBN, NNPCL and other Government Business Entities by the president.

While some supported the move, others expressed concerns saying it might send the wrong signal to the international and foreign investment community.

However, some experts and groups said the investigation was necessary to ascertain if there were any infractions or alleged abuse of office by the suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and other top government officials.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, said the investigation had become necessary to ascertain if there were any infractions or abuse of office.

He said, “It is a new administration, and if there is any reason to suspect that the case has not been managed well, the only way to get the facts out is through the normal audit and maybe a forensic audit. It is not out of place.

‘’If there is any suspicion of abuse of office, the normal thing is to do a forensic examination to ascertain whether there was any infraction or abuse of office. You need to get the facts before you can take action against anybody. That is what it is.”

Also, a professor of Economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Prof Sheriffdeen Tella, also supported the investigation.

He said, “Any investigation is worth it. There is a need for investigation to determine the transparency and accountability of their job and to ensure that they have been working in the context of corporate etiquette. So, there is nothing wrong with the investigation at all.”

An economist with the School of Management and Social Sciences, Pan-Atlantic University, Prof Bright Eregha, observed that the Federal Government might have ordered the probe because it felt the apex bank did not perform well or stick to its mandate.

He added that the probe would also be extended to other government enterprises, such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other entities, stressing that the investigation might restore confidence in the system.

Eregha said, “The CBN ought to be an independent body, however, we see in the last government, that independence was not really there in terms of the CBN governor not being involved with political issues.

“We saw what transpired in terms of his affiliation and moves. And then, there is the issue of the Naira redesign. I think this government just thought that the CBN is not doing well regarding the sanctity of the central bank in terms of its independence. So they felt a need to do a number of investigations.

‘’Don’t also forget that the CBN in the past has been involved in a lot of financial support to several sectors. I think the current government felt that for us to move forward, they need to investigate.

“That investigation is not only on CBN, it is also looking at other financial institutions. I’m also thinking it will go beyond the financial institutions to companies like the NNPC and all these places that we need to investigate to restore some level of confidence in Nigeria.’’

But the Chairman of the Foundation for Economic Research and Training, Professor Akpan Ekpo, expressed worries that the audit of the apex bank might send the wrong signals to potential investors.

He, however, maintained that the President might have his reasons for ordering the probe.

He stated, ‘’My worry is that to have made the audit of the central bank so open will send wrong signals to potential investors; foreign investors, who will start wondering whether our apex bank has serious problems. That is my take.

“But as a president, maybe he knows what we don’t know. When you start probing your apex bank, then you send a wrong signal in terms of the direction of the economy and in terms of what will happen going forward. Already, there is a challenge with getting investors to come in and there is a challenge with our forex reserve. It is depleting every day.’’

On the choice of the special investigator, Ekpo said, “I don’t know him but I wish he had sent someone completely neutral.”

The Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said Obazee must investigate the monetary policy of the suspended governor of the central bank, and the illegality of the redesign of the naira note, noting that the former CBN boss should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity if it is found that the implementation of the policy had political undertones.

Adeniran noted, “They should investigate how the former governor of the CBN changed the Nigerian monetary policy and the illegality that was perpetrated when he didn’t do due diligence before he changed the colour of the naira. We need to see whether he had good reasons for changing the colour of the naira or otherwise because basically, the naira doesn’t have a problem. It is the monetary policy that he put in place that could have been the problem.

“They should look at the monetary policy he implemented, and if there is any political undertone, for the implementation, or the changing of the colour of the naira without recourse to due process, and if he were to be politicking with the lives of Nigerians, then he should be seen to have committed a crime against humanity.

The Executive Chairman of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the appointment showed the laxity of agencies of government such as the National Assembly, who should ideally checkmate activities of government, adding that anyone discovered to have looted public funds should be prosecuted and banned from holding public office.

“We commended the effort to recover every looted fund from every looter. So, we are calling on the administration of Bola Tinubu to ensure that everyone that has done something wrong must be not only investigated, but also if there is any evidence of looting or stealing public funds, the monies must be returned, and those people must be barred from holding public offices. We hope that this probe would be carried out without any political consideration or cover-up,’’ he advised.

The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery is yet to begin production after the August commencement date, earlier announced by the President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

While delivering his speech at the official commissioning of the refinery by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May, he said, “Your excellencies, distinguished guests, our first product will be in the market before the end of July or beginning of August this year.”

However, no drop of refined petroleum product from the refinery has hit the market weeks after the promised production deadline, according to findings by The PUNCH.

Spokesperson for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Garba Deen in June, said that the company would cut down its fuel imports programme in August, once the Dangote Refinery began to push out refined petroleum products latest August.

A top source among the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria also confirmed that NNPCL had cut down importation.

Corroborating Deen, while speaking to journalists after a meeting with oil marketers in Abuja, also in June, the Chief Executive, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency, Farouk Ahmed, also said NNPCL had cut down on importation.

Officials of the Communications Department of Dangote Refinery could not speak on the matter as of press time.

However, a source at the refinery told The PUNCH that the management was unsure of when petrol refining would begin at the Ibeju-Lekki facility.

The source who was not authorised to speak said, “For now, the management has not come out with any official date.”

The President, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, advised the Federal Government to focus on completing the Port Harcourt refinery rather than focus on the Dangote refinery.

He said, “We should rather focus on making other refineries work because it would cut down on freight rates from importation, and would reduce prices. Dangote is a private businessman and can decide tomorrow that he would not refine again, although the government has a 20 per cent stake in the refinery. We should rather push for our own refineries, and ask the government the question such as; when is the Port Harcourt refinery going to start refining petrol?”

The National Controller Operations, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi, also said there was no cause for alarm as far as petrol supply was concerned as the NNPCL was still importing.

According to him, management of the Dangote refinery may have delayed production, due to some internal challenges.

He also advised the Federal Government, to ensure that other local refineries come on stream rather than depend on the Dangote refinery.

Ahead of a scheduled hearing in the U.S. on Tuesday, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu filed a response asking the court to disregard records suggesting the person admitted to Chicago State University in the 1970s was female.

Tinubu claimed opponent Atiku Abubakar was trying to “sandbag” him by raising the records in his ongoing challenge to Tinubu’s election over allegedly falsified academic documents.

However, the records came from subpoenaed documents from CSU itself, which show a “Bola Tinubu” who enrolled in 1977 submitted a transcript belonging to a woman.

This and other discrepancies in CSU records, like two different graduation dates and a president who joined the school post-graduation signing Tinubu’s certificate, prompted Abubakar to seek further disclosure.

But Tinubu argued the female transcript issue was a “conspiracy theory” and reason to ignore it for Tuesday’s hearing. Abubakar’s lawyers quickly responded consenting to Tinubu submitting a response but asserting their right to address his claims in court.

The academic controversy has intensified ahead of the U.S. court date, where Abubakar hopes records will bolster his challenge to Tinubu’s presidency over allegedly falsified documents. Tinubu appears to be downplaying the disputes despite glaring inconsistencies emerging from CSU.

The Central Bank of Nigeria issued a directive instructing commercial banks on Monday to refrain from utilizing their foreign exchange revaluation gains for dividends and operational expenditures.

The new directive was conveyed in a letter dated September 11, 2023, signed by the Director, Banking Division Department, Haruna Mustafa, and it is expected to be implemented immediately.

FX revaluation gains refer to the increase in the value of a bank’s assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency when there is a change in the exchange rate between the foreign currency and the local currency.

The CBN said it had assessed the consequences of the recent FX rate regime change on the banking system and identified its potential to substantially impact the Naira values of banks’ foreign currency (FCY) assets and liabilities.

The FX reforms negatively affected some businesses in the first quarter of 2023, but Nigerian banks were largely profitable.

According to the lender, FX revaluation gains must serve as a counter-cyclical buffer to safeguard against potential adverse FX rate fluctuations.

The CBN emphasized that banks should utilize these revaluation gains to reinforce their capital reserves, thus enhancing the banking sector’s capacity to endure volatility and economic shocks.

The letter reads in part, “The Bank thus approved the following prudential guidance and directives for immediate implementation by banks:

“Treatment of FX Revaluation Gains: Banks are required to exercise utmost prudence and set aside the FCY revaluation gains as a counter-cyclical buffer to cushion any future adverse movements in the FX rate. In this regard, banks shall not utilize such FX revaluation gains to pay dividends or meet operating expenses.

“Single Obligor Limit (SOL): Banks that inadvertently breach the Single Obligor Limit (SOL) due to the FX policy will be granted forbearance upon application to the CBN. The forbearance shall apply only to existing facilities as of the effective
date of this policy. Such banks shall be exempted from the regulatory deductions on the excess above the SOL limit in their CAR computation.

“Net Open Position (NOP) Limit: Banks that exceed the NOP prudential limits due to the FX revaluation shall be granted forbearance for the breach upon application.

“Existing prudential regulations on capital adequacy, dividend payments, and FCY borrowing limits shall continue to apply. shall be exempted from the regulatory deductions on the excess above the SOL limit in their CAR computation.

“Net Open Position (NOP) Limit: Banks that exceed the NOP prudential limits due to the FX revaluation shall be granted forbearance for the breach upon application.

“Existing prudential regulations on capital adequacy, dividend payments, and FCY borrowing limits shall continue to apply.”

The number of delisted loan apps rose from nine to 37, according to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s new report.

The number of fully approved loan apps also grew to 164 from 154 as of its last updates obtained from its website on Monday. The number of loan apps with conditional approval declined to 38 from 40, and the number of apps on the commission’s watchlist grew to 56 from 20.

This followied a sustained shakeup of the digital money lending space by the FCCPC, after harassment of Nigerians by the lenders.

According to the commission, delisted loan apps were permanently deleted by Google from Play Store.

List of delisted apps included: 

“Swiftkash App, Hen Credit Loan App, Cash Door App, Joy Cash-Loan Up To 1,000,000 App, Eaglecash App, Luckyloan Personal Loan App, Getloan App, Easeloan Apps, Naira Naija, Cashlawn App, Easynaira App, Crediting App, Yoyi App, Nut Loan App, Cashpal App, Nairaeasy Gist Loan App, Camelloan App, Nairaloan App, Moneytreefinance Made Easy App

“Cashme App, Secucash App, Creditbox App, Cashmama App, Crimson Credit App, Galaxy Credit App, Ease Cash App, Xcredit, Imoney, Naira Naija, Imoneyplus-Instant, Nairanaija-Instant, Nownowmoney, Naija Cash, Eagle Cash, Firstnell App, Flypay, and Spark Credit.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun State chapter and the Spokesperson to the Governor Ademola Adeleke, Mallam Olawale Rasheed have traded words on the failure of the State government to hold an exco meeting 54 days after inauguration of Commissioners and Special Advisers.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun State chapter had accused the Peoples Democratic Party’s administrations in the state of ineptitude over failure of Governor Ademola Adeleke to hold the state executive council meeting after 54 days after the inauguration.

The State chairman of the APC, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued on Monday, by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi.

The party sensitised the stakeholders in the state project not to treat the issue at hand with levity as it is strange for a democratic state government to refuse to hold executive meetings for about two months.

Lawal observed that the laissez-faire approach of Governor Adeleke to governance is a confirmation that he is only attracted to the glamour of the office without having any tangible programme for the development of the state.

The state APC chairman wondered how Adeleke has been appropriating funds for the running of the state without holding the state executive meetings.

He also stated that it was an absurdity for the governor to have relocated the Governor’s Office and the Government House to his sister’s residence in Ede where he resides ten months after the inauguration of his administration.

Lawal explained further that the kick-and-start Governor Adeleke has proven to be a misfit in the administration of a complex state like Osun State as his government is full of failed promises since its inception.

The State APC chairman recalled how Adeleke promised to release White Papers, on some of his hasty decisions through his obnoxious Executive Orders, without anything to that effect to date.

In Lawal’s words, “What is delaying the release of the White Paper on the obaship installation in the three ancient towns in the state, among others, which the governor needlessly meddled into for personal and political reasons?

“How about the monthly feedback briefing of the Adeleke administration that the governor promised would start in June? This is the third quarter of September and nothing is in sight. Is Governor Adeleke operating a different calendar?

“The Governor should sit up and stop being a metaphorical rolling stone to enable him perform his statutory duty to the citizenry as there is no gain to accrue to the state on account of his mindless trips to Rwanda, United States and Germany where he has been frolicking with his co-travellers under the guise of shopping for foreign investors.

“A situation under the administration of Governor Adeleke where nearly all the members of his party have become Special Advisers goes a long way to show that he is clueless to the extent that he has cheapened and bastardised the position of an SA in the government because of his irredeemable ignorance.

“It would be recalled that the governor had earlier announced the appointment of 30 Special Advisers, Board Chairmen, and Vice-Chairmen for the inauguration before adding 27 more on Wednesday morning before the function.

“A fact check showed that so many other Special Advisers had been appointed by the governor under the table while all the board chairmen appointed are without members which automatically make the board members the sole administrators of their parastatals except for one or two where there are vice-chairmen.

“The earlier Governor Adeleke stops covering his inadequacies with dancing, under the guise of praising God for making him the governor of the state, the better it will be for him.

“I can’t understand why Adeleke is doing little but his employment and adoption of deceit and propaganda to run his government is giving a false impression to the people living outside the state.

“In order to show that the Adeleke is grossly lacking in the act of qualitative governance, it was funny that his commissioner for information, Barr Kolapo Alimi, last Saturday stated in his rejoinder that ‘Adeleke is carefully thinking through the utilisation of the fund’ when he was defending the delay of the PDP administration in effecting the distribution of the Federal Government N2 billion fuel subsidy removal palliative for the people of the state.

“For God’s sake, how can a serious-minded and focused government still be thinking for over one month on how to disburse the N2 billion Federal Government fuel subsidy palliative when it didn’t take the source of the money for so long?” Lawal queried.

Reacting, the Spokesperson to the State Governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed said that the administration under former Governor Gboyega Oyetola held his maiden state executive council almost a year after the 2018 governorship election.

He said, “Osun state All Progressive Congress is reminded that former Governor Gboyega Oyetola held his maiden state executive council meeting on November 4 , 2019, almost a year after the 2018 governorship election.

“It is therefore a probable loss of memory for the state APC to accuse the current administration of either not holding or not announcing to the public the meetings of the state executive council meeting.

“As much as we are not using the abysmal record of the previous government as a yardstick, we pointed out this obvious deceit and memory loss to further help the public to see the falsity in the badly split state APC and the incorrigibleness of the state party leadership.

“Members of the public are assured that their Governor and his cabinet are working round the clock to expand delivery of democratic dividends and correct the big mess of the recent past.

“The cabinet members are for the past three weeks deepening the state sectoral agenda through rigorous brainstorming sessions with the establishment in preparation for an elaborate and expanded state executive council meeting.

“We advise the APC to read through its years of locust in state governance before spewing further falsehood and misinformation into public space,” he said.

…12 others paraded

An individual who has been posing as a police commissioner in Lagos State has been apprehended by the Police Command.

The arrest was confirmed by the command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, during a press briefing on Monday.

Hundeyin also highlighted the recent achievements of the command, which included the arrest of 12 other individuals for various offenses over the past two weeks.

During this period, the command recovered four firearms, two live cartridges, one expended cartridge, 11 live ammunition, and one vehicle from the culprits.

The impersonator, identified as Emmanuel, was arrested on September 2 when he visited a police formation in Ikorodu and introduced himself as a Commissioner of Police.

However, upon questioning, it was discovered that he was an impersonator.

A search of his residence led to the recovery of a Deputy Commissioner of Police warrant card, an Assistant Commissioner of Police warrant card, a Kenwood walkie-talkie, a police camouflage singlet, and a face cap.

In a separate incident, another impersonator, Ibrahim Bello, was arrested on September 4 following a complaint from the Nigeria Bar Association, Epe Area. Bello had allegedly been presenting himself as a lawyer at the Epe Magistrate Courts for several years.

He was apprehended while dressed in a lawyer’s regalia in court. After questioning, it was determined that he was an impersonator as well.