The Osun State Government has issued a public alert on the security breach of Governor Ademola Adeleke‘s official telephone number.

The compromised number, +234 803 365 7555, is reported to have been hacked, leading to potential fraudulent communications being sent from it.

In a statement released by the Governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the public has been strongly advised to disregard any calls or messages received from the hacked number.

“Members of the public should ignore any such communications as they are not authorized by the Governor,” Rasheed emphasized.

The state government is actively taking measures to address the breach and restore security to the Governor’s communication channels.

An investigation into the incident is underway, and efforts are ongoing to prevent future occurrences.

Residents and officials have been urged to report any suspicious activities or interactions related to the compromised number.

The government promises to keep the public updated as they work to resolve the situation and strengthen security measures around the Governor’s telecommunications.

Naija News understands that this is not the first time the phone number of a state Governor will be hacked as the Cross Rivers State Governor, Bassey Otu, on the 11th of February, 2023, saw his phone numbers hacked by criminals.

[Naijanews]

A driver of a bus, together 18 passengers in the vehicle were last week kidnapped by gunmen in Akwa Ibom State.

Police authorities in the state confirmed the abduction on Tuesday, stating that the incident occurred along the Azumini boundary between Akwa Ibom and Abia states.

The ill-fated bus which departed the Uyo Terminus, was traveling through Iwukem in Etim Ekpo local council area of Akwa Ibom before it was intercepted by the gunmen.

Eyewitnesses, who requested anonymity, revealed that the assailants halted the bus by firing shots into the air.

More gunmen emerged from the bush to join the initial gang in the shooting before ordering all passengers to disembark from the bus under the death threat.

“The driver was the first person to come down. Other passengers were ordered to follow suit immediately. The kidnappers moved all of them to the bush and escaped with them. The passengers’ whereabouts are not known for now,” a source disclosed to Channels Television.

Akwa Ibom State’s Police Public Relations Officer,
ASP Timfon John, confirmed the incident in a phone conversation with Channels Television.

“The state police command is aware and is still monitoring the situation. All I can say is that the police are still monitoring the situation now,” ASP John added.

[Leadership]

The Federal Government has  announced the release of  results of the 2024 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into Unity Colleges and Federal Government Academy (FGA), Suleja.

NCEE is for admission into Junior Secondary School (JSS 1) of Federal Unity Colleges and this year’s edition was written on Saturday, June 1, 2024 in Nigeria, Benin Republic and Togo.

Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu,  while announcing the results on Tuesday in Abuja said, 71,291 candidates registered for the 2024 NCEE and 66,931 candidates sat for the examination, while 4,360 were absent.

He said: “Out of the maximum obtainable score of 210, one candidate obtained the highest score of 203, while 13 candidates obtained the lowest score of 1”

Sununu noted that this year, 52 candidates (2 candidates from Lagos State and 50 candidates from Rivers State) were involved in examination malpractice.

[DailyTrust]

The Supreme Court judgement on July 11, granting financial autonomy to the 774 local councils and recognising them as the third tier of Nigeria’s governance architecture, was truly historic. It was perhaps the most remarkable judgement ever delivered by the apex court in recent times, as it used its power to interpret the law to give a different meaning to Section 162 of the Constitution.

Since 1999, governors have used this section to withhold and tamper with the funds federally allocated to the councils, using a joint account that has proven to be a honeypot of abuse.

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court described the payment of the allocations to the account as gross misconduct and scolded the governors for dissolving democratically elected councils and setting up caretaker committees.

The court ruled that caretaker committees are illegal and that councils run by them should not receive the federal allocation.

Henceforth, the court ruled that the allocations should go directly to the accounts of the 774 local councils.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, said Nigeria runs a three-tier governance structure, where no one tier is subject to the whims and caprices of the other. He criticised the governors and the state assemblies for almost allowing the councils to go into extinction with their treatment of them.

The judgment was generally well received by Nigerians. According to reports, the verdict ignited jubilation by workers in some local councils as they sang the praises of the Tinubu administration.

The Kano State Government on Tuesday filed fresh charge against former governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje.

In the charge sheet with case No. K/143c/24, the state government accused Ganduje and erstwhile Commissioner for Justice, Musa Lawan, of Criminal Conspiracy, and misappropriation contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code (as amended) CAP 105, Vol. 2, the Laws of Kano State of Nigeria.

The offence, the state government said, is contrary punishable under Section 97 and Section 315.

The state government accused Ganduje and Lawan of abuse of office.

In the charge sheet, the state government said it intends to present four witnesses.

No date has been fixed for the arraignment.

[DailyPost]

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has asserted that the federal government is not constitutionally superior to state governments, emphasizing that the Oyo government is best suited to determine what is good for its people.

During an emergency consultative stakeholders’ meeting in Ibadan, held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Governor Makinde addressed the implications of a recent Supreme Court judgment that granted autonomy to local government councils across Nigeria.

He highlighted a gap created by this judgment in relation to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I’ve been reading a lot of sensational headlines in the newspapers,” Governor Makinde said.

“They claim, ‘The governors’ hands have been tied; this is a first for Nigeria.’

This morning, NULGE declared, ‘With this judgment, there’s now freedom in the land.'”

In the meeting, Governor Makinde proposed discussing the Supreme Court’s decision on the financial autonomy of local government councils.

He pointed out that the judgment has created a constitutional gap.

“We all swore to uphold the constitution,” he stated.

“But when laws conflict, it’s our duty to find our own solutions for transparency and effective operation. When elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers.”

Governor Makinde recalled that since his administration began, Oyo State has conducted local government elections twice.

“When I was sworn in on May 29, 2019, I dissolved the local government councils,” he said. “The Supreme Court has now stated that governors do not have the right to dissolve these councils. So why did I dissolve them then? It was because elections were held into the LCDAs, and the Supreme Court has clarified that there are only 774 local governments in Nigeria.”

He emphasized the need to address confusion and ensure the stability of structures within the state. “We will address the major challenges at the local government levels and develop our own solutions,” he said.

“Addressing these challenges will ensure seamless implementation of processes that allow Oyo State to continue running smoothly.”

Governor Makinde also addressed the issue of local government elections in Oyo State, noting that the state does not have caretaker committees at the local level.

“We planned the elections meticulously so that not a single day was wasted,” he explained.

He reaffirmed the responsible administration in Oyo State and the state’s capability to make decisions that benefit its people.

“We don’t need the federal government to tell us what to do; we know what’s best for our people,” he declared.

“When we took over in 2019, the local governments were burdened with backlogs of salaries, gratuities, and pensions. Oyo State will emerge stronger from this.”

In conclusion, Governor Makinde stated, “Constitutionally, the federal government is not superior to the state government; their jurisdictions are coordinate. So, we will continue to do what is right in Oyo State, as we have been doing.”

[Tribune]

Another member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ekene Abubakar Adams, has reportedly died. 

Adams, who represented Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency in Kaduna State as a first-time member, reportedly died after a protracted illness. 

Until he died on Tuesday morning, he was the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports.

An ex-footballer with Remo Stars, he was once a General Manager of Kada City Football Club of Kaduna and elected on the platform of the Labour Party during the last general election. 

He is the second member of the House to die within the last seven days after Hon. Akinremi Olaide representing Ibadan North and the fourth member to die since the inauguration of the House in June 2023.

As at the time of filing this report, the House spokesman, Hon. Akintunde Rotimi and the Chairman of the Kaduna caucus, Hon. Amos Gwamna Magaji could not be reached for confirmation. 

Nigeria’s inflation narratives took a controversial twist yesterday as the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), gives its own figure contradicting that of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, by a wide margin.

The NBS had released its Consumer Price Index, CPI, for June 2024 reporting that headline inflation rate increased by 0.24 percentage points to 34.19 per cent in June from 33.95 percent in May.
But when contacted by Vanguard for his comment, the President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Kelvin Oye, simply said, “Inflation is over 90 percent”, without giving further details.

Giving its own details NBS, also said that food inflation grew to 40.87 percent in June from 40.66 percent in May 2024 due to increase in the prices of millet whole grain, garri, guinea corn, etc (bread and cereals class), yam, wateryam, cocoyam, potatoes, yam & other tubers class, among other food items.

Meanwhile, financial analysts said the NBS’ figures outstripped both the individual and consensus forecasts.

NBS stated: “In June 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 34.19 percent relative to the May 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.95 percent.

“Looking at the movement, the June 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.24 percentage points when compared to the May 2024 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.4 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023, which was 22.79 percent.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of June 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e. June 2023).

“The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items: Millet Whole grain, Garri, Guinea corn, etc (Bread and Cereals Class), Yam, Water Yam, Coco Yam (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Groundnut Oil, Palm Oil, etc (Oil & Fats Class) and Catfish Dried, Dried Fish-Sadine, Mudfish (Fish Class), etc.

According to NBS, in June food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Edo (47.34 percent), Kogi (46.37 percent), Cross River (45.28 percent), while Nasarawa (34.31 percent), Bauchi (34.78 percent) and Adamawa (35.96 percent), recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on year-on-year basis.

Monetary policy is failing- Adonri

Reacting, David Adonri, Analyst and Executive Vice Chairman at Highcap Securities Limited, said : “Despite all the measures taken by CBN, inflation rate continues to rise. Continued application of monetary policy to tackle this kind of stubborn inflation is failing because what is required is not demand management but supply side fiscal policy.

“Should the monetary authority react by hiking interest rate again, it will further increase yield on debt and cause financial assets to migrate more to debt. This may harm ongoing recapitalization exercise of banks. Rising inflation is not good news for equities.”

Commenting on the further rise in inflation, analysts at Comercio Partners said: “Looking ahead, food inflation, the main driver, is expected to taper off because of the short-term federal government’s recent interventions, with a N2 trillion packages announced by Abubakar Kyari, the minister for Agriculture and Food Security, to curb rising prices and speed up stabilization and growth.

“Also, a 150-day duty-free import window has been approved, allowing tariff-free importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas through land and sea borders. This measure, with imported commodities subject to a Recommended Retail Price (RRP), aims to provide immediate relief.

“However, tackling food inflation long-term means addressing underlying issues like transportation and logistics challenges, harvest losses, and regional insecurity. Moreover, discussions around raising the minimum wage could further fuel inflationary pressures.

“On the monetary front, recent interest rate hikes have helped combat inflation, but another hike seems unlikely because of tight macroeconomic environment.

“However, a focus should shift towards addressing the root causes of inflation without stifling economic growth.”

Also commenting, analysts at CardinalStone Finance stated: “The June CPI data indicated that inflation leapt by 24 bases points (bps) to 34.2% YoY, missing analysts’ average consensus of 33.94% and our projection of 33.90%. “Our tamer inflation expectation, based on the stability in the foreign exchange (FX) market was overshadowed by a more pronounced food inflation.

“We perceive that the food basket is still grappling with an uptick in input costs and persisting insecurities in the review period, thus propping up prices.

“The outlook for July’s inflation is likely to be mixed on the back of multiple factors. On upside risk, we expect the recent PMS scarcity and another electricity tariff hike for ‘Band A’ users to increase price pressure.

“Furthermore, FX volatility will likely be prevalent in July, stemming from increased FX demand for vacation and payment of foreign tuition fees.

“While these highlighted factors are expected to increase inflationary risk, we anticipate the base effect to sufficiently moderate YoY inflation.

“Moreover, the government’s decision to suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of certain commodities like Maize, husked brown rice, Wheat, and cowpeas for the next 150 days is expected to lead to lower food prices. “The government’s plan to import 250,000MT of Wheat and 250,000MT of Maize also bodes well for the food price outlook, providing a positive counterbalance to the inflationary risks. “Overall, we expect headline inflation to moderate by 50bps to 33.7%.
“In light of the above, we expect the monetary policy authority to maintain its hawkish stance and hike the policy rate by 50 to 100bps in its July meeting”.

In his own comment Clifford Egbomeade, Public Policy Analyst and Communication expert, said: “The rise in Nigeria’s inflation rate to 34.19% in June 2024 has several significant implications for the economy. First, it reduces the purchasing power of consumers, making goods and services more expensive and diminishing the standard of living, particularly for low and middle-income households. This increased cost of living can exacerbate economic hardship and potentially push more people into poverty.”

“High inflation also creates economic uncertainty, which can deter both local and foreign investment. Investors are likely to be cautious in such an environment, leading to reduced investment and slower economic growth. “Moreover, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may be compelled to further raise interest rates to control inflation, which increases borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, potentially further slowing down economic activities.

“To address rising inflation, the government and the CBN should consider a combination of monetary and fiscal measures. Tightening monetary policy can help curb excessive money supply, although this must be done carefully to avoid stifling economic growth. Implementing prudent fiscal policies, such as reducing fiscal deficits and improving tax collection, is also crucial. Investing in supply-side interventions, such as supporting local production and reducing import dependency, can help stabilize prices in the long run”.

[Vanguard]

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has described the recent Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local government areas as a welcome development and relief to state governments.

This is as he expressed concerns over its effective implementation as it relates to the ability of LGs to handle their financial responsibilities.

Governor Eno made the observations Monday evening while fielding questions from Government House correspondents at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, upon his return to the state from a foreign official engagement.

“Since I assumed office, I’ve not touched any funds allocated to the local governments. The only challenge I envisage now, which we have to sit down and find a way around is how the local government workers would be paid promptly? How will primary school teachers be paid promptly? How do we clear the backlog that we have? I pray that we find a way around this.”

Eno added that the Supreme Court’s verdict on local government autonomy remains sacrosanct, being the pronouncement of the final court in the land.

He noted however, that the judgement would not impact on the Akwa Ibom State Government in anyway, adding that under his administration and previous years, local governments have been getting their due allocations, without any interference with the operations of the joint account.

The governor further explained that in furtherance to his ARISE agenda which places premium on rural development, his administration has channelled volumes of funds into offsetting arrears of gratuities, pensions, salaries and other entitlements to local government workers, noting that the autonomy granted the third tier of government is a relief to the state government.

He urged local governments, under the new arrangement, to take over the responsibility of prompt payment of salaries and other emoluments to teachers, health workers and other LG workers to avoid leaving unnecessary burden of arrears to successive governments.

He said, “The Supreme Court has made pronouncements. That’s the final court of the land, but for us in Akwa Ibom, honestly, I don’t see us having any issues. For me, this is a welcome development because I know how much we, as a state, support the local governments.

“Our ARISE Agenda is also cantered around developing the local government areas, so with this judgement, I feel relieved, but my concern is how they would bear the brunt of the autonomy.”

[Punch]

The Kremlin on Tuesday gave a cautious reaction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s apparent invitation to a future peace summit, saying that Russia first needs to understand what Kyiv means before attending talks.