President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of the presidential economic coordination council (PECC) and the creation of the economic management team emergency taskforce (EET).

Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the PECC and EET initiative is a strategic move to bolster the nation’s economic governance frameworks and ensure robust and coordinated economic planning and implementation.

Ngelale said the PECC headed by Tinubu, comprises distinguished leaders and key government officials.

The team consists of Vice-President Kashim Shetimma (vice-chairman of the PECC and NEC chairman); Senate President Godwill Akpabio; AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF); Wale Edun, coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance; Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security.

Other members are Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development; Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning, Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy; Doris Azoka-Aniete, minister of industry, trade and investment; Simon Lalong, minister of labour and employment.

Also enlisted are Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue economy; Adebayo Adebulu, minister of power; Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state, petroleum resources; Ekperikpe Ekpo minister of state, gas; Jaji Sambo, minister of transportation; and David Umahi, minister of works.

According To Ngelale, the PECC will also comprise key members of the organised private sector, with the following members joining for a period not exceeding one year — subject to the president’s directive.

The private sector members include Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Amina Maina, Begun Ajayi-Kadir, Funke Okpeke, Doyin Salami, Patrick Okigbo, Kola Adesina, Segun Agbaje, Chidi Ajaere, Abdulkadir Aliu and Rasheed Sarumi.

‘EET TO SUBMIT PLAN FOR 2024 ECONOMIC INTERVENTION’

Furthermore, Ngelale said Tinubu is determined to address immediate economic challenges and ensure the streamlined execution of economic strategies.

To this end, he said the president established the EET with a mandate to formulate and implement a consolidated emergency economic plan.

“The taskforce comprises key government officials and industry leaders in furtherance of the President’s collaborative approach toward achieving economic resilience and growth,” he added.

“The EET is now mandated to submit a comprehensive plan of economic interventions for 2024 to the PECC, covering the next six (6) months, for immediate implementation within two weeks of its inauguration.”

Ngelale also said the EET would meet twice every week.

According to the statement, members of the EET include the minister of finance (chairman of the EET), minister of budget and economic planning, minister of power, minister of agriculture and food security, the chairman of the NGF, coordinating minister of industry, trade and investment; and the CBN governor.

Others are Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser; minister of health and social welfare; Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra; Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun; Muhammed Bago, governor of Niger; Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ben Akabueze, director-general of the budget office of the federation; Mele Kyari, GCEO of NNPC Limited; director-general of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group; Olu Verheijen, special adviser to the president on energy, Bismarck Rewane, economist; and Suleyman Ndanusa, economist.

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‘EET TO IMPLEMENT ECONOMIC OBJECTIVES IN SIX MONTHS’

Meanwhile, the economic management team, chaired by Edun, was established in 2023, to serve as the working group under the PECC.

Ngelale said the team will play a crucial role in the economic governance structure established by the president.

“The EMT traditionally meets monthly or as required, but will now suspend its meetings for the duration of the EET’s mandate (six months),” he said.

Officials that make up the EMT are Edun as chairman, Cardoso, Bagudu, Uzoka-Anite, Tijani, Umahi, Lalong, Kyari, Lokpobiri, Ekperikpe, Adelabu, Keyamo, and Oyetola.

Ngelale said the chairman of the EMT may, as needed, call on any minister or head of an agency to brief the team on key programmes and developments affecting the economy.

“The president’s formation of the PECC, under his Chairmanship, alongside the creation of the EET, led by the Chairman of the EMT, and the EMT itself, is the manifestation of a unified strategy aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s economic management architecture for verifiably improved performance,” he said.

“The formation of these teams will complement existing economic governance structures, including the NEC, which is chaired by the Vice-President”.

Over the next six months, Ngelale said, the EET will focus on the rapid implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of critical initiatives, “strengthening the Tinubu-led administration’s collective approach to advancing Nigeria’s economic objectives”.

Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff (COAS), says three of the 10 widows of the army personnel killed in Okuama community in Delta state are pregnant.

On March 14, about 17 personnel of the Nigerian Army were killed while on a peacekeeping mission in the Delta community.

The federal and state government had vowed that perpetrators of the act would be arrested to face the wrath of the law.

The names of the deceased soldiers were A.H Ali, D.E Obi, S.D. Ashafa, U. Zakari, , Yahaya Saidu, Danbaba Yahaya, Kabir Bashir, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Bulus Haruna, Sole Opeyemi, Bello Anas, Alhaji Isah, Clement Francis, Abubakar Ali, Adamu Ibrahim, Hamman Peter, and Ibrahim Adamu.

Speaking on Wednesday during the burial ceremony of the late soldiers at the military cemetery in Abuja, Lagbaja said it was “highly demoralising” that the soldiers were killed by those they were equipped to protect.

The army chief added that it took over 72 hours of searching to recover the vital organs of some of the deceased soldiers.

He added that the Nigerian Army exercised “a lot of restraint” in the search for missing arms and body parts of the deceased soldiers.

“The Okuama killing has added to the care of the Nigerian Army and, by extension, the Nigerian state, 10 widows, three of whom are four, five, and eight months pregnant, 21 orphans, and many other dependents, which include parents,” Lagbaja said.

“While commiserating with the families of these gallant soldiers, I assure them that the Nigerian Army and the good people of this country will not leave them in the cold. We shall do all within our power to provide succour to the families.”

The army chief said the Nigerian Army will not be deterred by the incident in Delta in its mandate to defend the country.

The lawmaker representing Bauchi Central, Ahmed Ningi, has formally contested his suspension from the Senate, threatening to take legal action if the decision is not reversed within seven days.

Ningi, through his legal counsel, Femi Falana (SAN), communicated his stance to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, highlighting concerns over the legality of the suspension process.

The Senate had on March 12 imposed a three-month suspension on Ningi following his public assertion that the 2024 budget had been inflated by N3.7 trillion.

Ningi alleged a discrepancy between the N25 trillion budget approved by the National Assembly and the N28.7 trillion purportedly being implemented by the Presidency, a claim that led to his suspension for purportedly tarnishing the Senate’s reputation.

The controversy reached a peak during a Senate session during which Ningi was asked to substantiate his allegations. Following this, he was suspended, relinquished his role as Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, and was seen leaving the Red Chambers defiantly.

Two weeks into his suspension, Ningi and his lawyer Falana are challenging the validity of the Senate’s action, suggesting procedural flaws and asserting the senator’s readiness to escalate the matter to the Federal High Court if necessary.

The letter to Akpabio, delivered to his office on Wednesday, marks the formal initiation of Ningi’s appeal against his suspension.

In the letter, Falana wrote, “On March 9, 2024, our client granted an interview to the BBC Hausa Service on the 2024 Appropriation Act. He expressed his views on the budget of the Federal Government in the exercise of his fundamental right to freedom of speech guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“Dissatisfied with the interview, you caused our client to be put on trial before the Senate on March 14, 2024 contrary to the provisions of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2018.”

Falana, in the letter, said the Senate President acted as the accuser, prosecutor, and judge in the case, which was in utter violation of the provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.

Falana argued that in addition to violating Ningi’s fundamental right to a fair hearing, the Senate also violated the people of the Bauchi Central Senatorial District’s right to representation in the Senate for three months.

He said, “This is a breach of Section 111 of the Constitution and Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act.

“As you are no doubt aware, the Federal High Court had struck down the suspension of some members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who had accused the leadership of both houses of budget padding, corruption or abuse of office.

“Specifically, the court declared the suspension of the affected legislators illegal and unconstitutional.

“As a senior lawyer, you (Akpabio) ought to have drawn the attention of the members of the Senate to these decisions and several others where the high courts of some states and the Court of Appeal have held that no parliament in Nigeria has the power to suspend or expel a legislator and confiscate his salaries and allowances.

“In view of the foregoing, you will agree with us that the suspension of Senator Ningi and the denial of his entitlements are illegal and unconstitutional in every material particular.

“We are compelled to request you to ensure that the said suspension is lifted forthwith.

“However, if you fail to accede to our request seven days upon receipt of this letter, we shall not hesitate to pray the Federal High Court for the reinstatement of our client. We shall equally report you to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for treating the judgments of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal with disdain.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disowned Wednesday’s Labour Party (LP) National Convention in Anambra.

Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, said this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

Oyekanmi said that the conduct of the convention was not monitored by INEC, declining to state further why it was not monitored.

NAN, however, reports that the LP had on Tuesday shifted the convention from Umuahia in Abia to Nnewi, Anambra State.

Speaking on the change in venue, Mr Kehinde Edun, the LP National Legal Adviser, told newsmen that the party had duly informed INEC about the change in venue and date.

“No, it is holding in Anambra. Nnewi, to be precise, not Umuahia in Abia State again. In fact, Umuahia was not even the first venue we chose. Benin was the first choice before we changed to Umuahia and now Nnewi.

“So, we are at liberty to pick any venue of our choice. We only need to inform INEC about the change in venue and time,” Edun said.

Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 states that political parties shall give INEC at least 21 days notice of convention, congress, conference or meeting.

This includes the convention or meeting convened for the purpose of “merger” and electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has declared that his administration will not be cut short, as he claimed that the people of Rivers State can attest that he won the 2023 gubernatorial election.

Fubara, who called on the people of the state not to panic, assured them of his administration’s determination to protect their lives and properties.

He spoke while addressing members of the Family Support Group, who were on a solidarity visit to the Government House in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

Represented by the Head of the Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, the governor said the government is for youth, women, men, and every well-meaning Nigerian who wishes the state well.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, reads: “The whole land of Rivers State stands in affirmation that we won the election fairly and deserve to serve out our full tenure. There is not going to be anything that will cut short the popular mandate that you all gave to this administration.

“Just about within weeks of assuming office, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, flagged off the Port Harcourt Ring Road project that will traverse six local governments. It will be completed within 36 months. But I think it will be completed before the time because the progress of the work we have seen is beyond what we were thinking.

“The official main Trans-Kalabari Road will start very soon and will begin from Port Harcourt. A lot of plans have been made for that road, and very soon, you will see contractors on site, and Rivers State will be opened.

“Just yesterday, you heard in the news also that the governor has commenced the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road. That road was initially done with one lane, but now, he is going to dualise it. The government has already awarded the contract.”

The Kuriga school children rescued from their abductors in Zamfara State after 16 days in captivity will be handed over to their parents today.

The Nation gathered yesterday that their parents met with them at Kaduna Women and Children Shelter where they are receiving psycho-social treatment.

It was, however, not clear if six of the children admitted into the Dallet Barrack Hospital of the 1 Division Nigerian Army were among those that met with their parents.

Read Also: Rescued pupils, teachers to reunite with families soon, says Ekiti govt
The abducted children were 137.

Though reporters were not allowed into the Women and Children Shelter, a recorded video of the meeting showed a moment of joy for the parents and their children.

Some of the parents were seen embracing the children while some shed tears of joy for seeing their children alive.

During the meeting which had top government functionaries in attendance, Secretary to the Kaduna State Government (SSG) Abdulkadir Meyere said the rescue of the children was a promise fulfilled.

Meyere, who represented Governor Uba Sani said: “We should all thank God. It would be recalled that on the very day that this incident happened, the governor came down to Kuriga to sympathise with you. He told you people that these children are his children.”

Bundesliga champions in waiting, Bayer Leverkusen, has placed a staggering €55m transfer fee on Super Eagles forward Victor Boniface ahead of next summer transfer window.

Incidentally, an unnamed Premier League club has reportedly approached Bayer Leverkusen with an inquiry about the availability of the Super Eagles striker who missed the last Africa Cup of Nations due to injury on the eve of the tournament.

Leverkusen has declared Boniface not for sale as they wished to keep him for another season but has since placed a fee of at least €55m just in case for any initial negotiations.

Boniface only joined Leverkusen from Union-Saint Gilloise in Belgium in the summer.

In his first season, the 23-year-old has 10 goals and seven assists in 16 games but he has been out with an abductor injury since January and only returned to training this week .

Yet with Boniface already linked to Arsenal in January and manager Mikel Arteta poised to sign a high profile striker in the summer, there is a growing speculations that the Gunners could that be that mystery club.

The writing appears to be on the wall for Eddie Nketiah, who has barely featured of late except for a short cameo against FC Porto in the dying stages. Nketiah hasn’t started a game for Arsenal in 2024, and that’s even more significant when you realise Gabriel Jesus hasn’t been fit either.

And journalist Florian Plettenberg has now revealed that an ‘unknown’ English side have made an approach.

Sharing his update on X, Plettenberg said the 23-year-old has a ‘big market’ in England and one club has already made their move.

He explained: “News Victor Boniface: The 23 y/o striker has a big market in England. In addition, Bayer 04 has a concrete verbal inquiry for him from an unknown club from the Premier League.

“Boniface is not actually for sale as they would like to keep him

“If Leverkusen were to be willing to talk at all, offers of more than 55 million euros would have to be made.

“Boniface, now back in training after an adductor surgery in January.”

Of course, it remains to be seen how interested Arsenal are in Boniface, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they are the mystery club mentioned.

President Bola Tinubu has offered scholarships to the children of the 17 soldiers killed in the Okuama community, Bomadi LGA of Delta state.

The president also awarded posthumous national honours to the deceased soldiers.

Tinubu spoke on Wednesday during the burial ceremony of the late soldiers at the military cemetery in Abuja.

The president conferred Members of the Order of Niger (MON) honour on four deceased officers.

Yahaya Sule, a sergeant got Federal Republic Medal 1, while the rest got Federal Republic Medal 11.

He sympathised with the families of the deceased officers, noting that they died on a “mission of peace”.

Tinubu said the elders of the Okuama community must help the military to identify the gunmen who killed the 17 soldiers.

“It is now our duty to protect the families of our departed heroes,” the president said.

“The federal government will provide a house in any part of our country to each of the families of the four officers and 13 soldiers.

“The federal government has also approved scholarships to all the children of the deceased up to the university level.

“The military must, within the next ninety days, ensure that all the benefits of the departed are paid to their families.”

On March 14, 17 personnel of the Nigerian Army were killed while on a peacekeeping mission in the Okuama community in Delta state.

The federal and state governments promised that perpetrators would be arrested to face the wrath of the law.

The names of the deceased soldiers are A.H Ali, D.E Obi, S.D. Ashafa, U. Zakari, , Yahaya Saidu, Danbaba Yahaya, Kabir Bashir, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Bulus Haruna, Sole Opeyemi, Bello Anas, Alhaji Isah, Clement Francis, Abubakar Ali, Adamu Ibrahim, Hamman Peter, and Ibrahim Adamu.

Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), says President Bola Tinubu has given a directive for a single-digit tax system in Nigeria.

Adedeji spoke on Wednesday when Adebayo Alli, chief executive officer (CEO) of Guinness Nigeria, led a management team of the firm on a visit to the revenue house in Abuja.

In a statement, Adedeji described the directive as a strategic plan that is being religiously followed to lead the country out of the current economic challenges.

“The president gave a directive that he wants a single digit tax in the country, meaning that the maximum number of taxes we will have after the work of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms will be nine taxes,” the chairman said.

“For us at FIRS, we have responded to that directive. We want to grow the pie such that even if we are taking the same percentage of the bigger pie, the result will be huge.

“By God’s grace, we will not introduce additional taxes nor increase any form of taxes. We are only determined to increase the pie.

“We have restructured our operations at FIRS in such a way that we are now effectively carrying out our duty of assessing, collecting and accounting for taxes.

“We used to have functional types of taxes, but we have identified that the only customers we have are the taxpayers.

“We have improved the way we relate with our customers by rearranging our operations based on our customers, using their turnover as the basis to categorise them into large, medium and small.

“We did this to actually develop expertise in what we do. Secondly, to provide you with a one-stop shop for your activities.

“If you are in a large tax group, you only need to go to one office to pay all forms of taxes, including audit and other activities. You don’t need to move from one office to another again.

“We are here to serve you. You taxpayers are not armed robbers or criminals that we will be chasing about. FIRS is also not a law enforcement organisation. We are partners in progress.

‘FG TO LAUNCH CONSUMER CREDIT SCHEME SOON’

Adedeji said the president, through the consumer credit scheme recently introduced, intends to increase the purchasing power of Nigerians to boost the productive capacity of companies and stimulate growth.

According to the chairman, another bold decision the president has taken is the birth of the renewed hope infrastructure fund.

He said some of the raw materials sourced locally are produced in the Northern part of the country, noting that the lack of sufficient infrastructure raises the expenses associated with transporting these materials between locations.

“In a couple of days, the consumer credit scheme will be launched and what that will do is to really set the right fundamentals most especially for the kind of products you sell,” he said.

“In an economy of our size, it will be extremely difficult if we don’t have a consumer credit scheme. People need to eat before they drink. But when they have credit to buy things, this gives them more money that they can use to come to drink and relax after work.

“More so, the president has also directed the commencement of a single window platform for your logistics at the ports. So, instead of having to pay in many places, you can now do that through the platform, most especially for companies like yours.

“You know your products before they come into the country, so you pay before they arrive as the issue of port congestion that delays the time you get your raw materials has been taken care of now.

“Based on the president’s holistic plan, in the next three years, we will have a very good rail and road transportation network that will make movement of goods and raw materials easy and remove most of the bottlenecks for industries.”

‘WE WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN NIGERIA’

On his part, Alli pledged that the company would continue to do business in the country, notwithstanding the current macroeconomic challenges.

“We have come to know FIRS more and also tell you a little bit about who we are as a large taxpayer so you can understand our world, the value we add to Nigeria, despite the macro-economic situation facing us,” he said.

He assured the Adedeji that Guinness would continue to invest in the country, seeking assurances from the tax authority in terms of the role it would play “in getting the economy back on the right path from the recovery point of view.”

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the country’s biggest bank, says it has recovered nearly 80 percent of the cash it lost during a system glitch, from 15,000 customers.

According to AP News, the hitch allowed customers to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts.

Abe Sano, president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, told reporters on Tuesday, that about $14 million was withdrawn or digitally transferred during the error.

He said the value of the transactions ranged from 9 cents to $5,350.

“The total amount remaining is not significant for the bank, but if this money is not fully recouped, it sends the wrong message,” Sano said.

According to the report, the amount lost initially was reported as $40 million, but 567 individuals have not yet returned the money.

“On Tuesday, the bank posted their names and account details online, in an apparent attempt to shame them into giving it back,” the bank’s president said.

“News of the glitch spread on social media on March 16 as much of the money was withdrawn by university students. Several universities have publicly urged their students to return the cash.”

According to Ethiopia’s central bank, the issue was caused by a “routine system update and inspection” rather than a cyberattack.

On March 16, local media reported the hitch, which led to the temporary freeze of digital financial services across the industry.