The Tinubu-led federal government has commenced the nationwide distribution of 42,000 metric tonnes of grains.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari announced the development during an interactive session with the National Assembly joint committee on Agriculture Production Services and Rural Development, on Tuesday.

The committee chaired by Senator Saliu Mustapha (APC -Kwara Central), had asked the Minister to divulge how the federal government was planning to curb the high cost of food items in the country and make it affordable to the citizenry.

Replying, Kyari disclosed that they had received a directive and approval from President Bola Tinubu to distribute 42,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains.

According to him, “We have received directive and approval from Mr. President to distribute for immediate impact 42,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains free of charge to the Nigerian population.

“This was received in mid-February, as we are speaking we have a record of the distribution being carried out, but I will want to plead with the Honorable House Members and Distinguished Senators that some of the movements can’t be made public but a lot of states have started receiving their grains.

“We are distributing to State capitals in the first instance as you all are aware of the risk involved in the vandalisation of foodstuff, so we are working with the office of the National Security Adviser and other national security agencies.

“Furthermore, 58,500 metric tons of milled rice from mega rice millers will also be released into the market for stabilization.”

He said that the action of the Federal Government had become imperative to cushion the impacts of hardship on Nigerians which he said, will soon become a thing of the past.

Nollywood actor, Prince Emeka Ani has hailed skit maker Sabinus after they collaborated on a project.

Speaking about it, the veteran actor said his phone briefly froze when he received an enormous credit alert from Sabinus.

Ani praised the fellow actor and AMVCA-winning comedian for the wonderful manner he treated him during the project.


In a now-viral video, he revealed that Sabinus had driven a Prado Jeep to pick him up from Asaba, Delta state, for a project involving the creation of a skit in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers state.

He revealed that the whole production process had lasted 15 mins but he was lounged in a very expensive hotel and given the best treatment.

He noted that the credit alert he had received was big enough to freeze his phone for some few seconds.

His words …

“During my stay, he accommodated me in one of the finest hotels in Port Harcourt and arranged for a Prado Jeep to take me back to Asaba. Truly grateful for the royal treatment. Nobody has given me such respect and priority.

“After shooting a 15-minute skit with Sabinus, I was treated like royalty. He paid me before I even left Asaba, and the alert from him froze my phone for a few seconds.”

Ayodele Fayose, a former governor of Ekiti state has reacted to the statement made by Afe Babalola (SAN), who opined that previous governors of the state did not do well in office hence the reason for hardship in the state.

Recall that the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), on Monday, said all the past governors who managed the affairs of the state before the incumbent, Biodun Oyebanji, failed to develop it.

Speaking at the commissioning of the multi-system hospital annexe in Odo-Ado, Igirigiri road, Ado Ekiti, Babalola commended Oyebanji for doing a wonderful job so far.

The legal luminary added that the former governors abandoned the vision of those who laboured for the creation of the state.

However, in an interview with Premium Times on Tuesday, Fayose said that contrary to Babalola’s assertion, all past governors of the state did their best and contributed to Ekiti’s development.

However, the former governor said Babalola remained a leader he respects and would never want to join issues on any matter.

Fayose said Babalola himself is trying at everything he is doing, but that he would not finish every good thing he intends to achieve.

He also expressed the belief that Babalola must have been misquoted, adding that the senior lawyer had, in 2018, described him as a patriot not only to Ekiti State and the Yoruba race but also to Nigeria.

He said: “He is our leader, we owe everything to him, we cannot join issues with him, we will continue to respect him. In this case, he must have been misquoted.

“I want to believe he must have been misquoted, Governor Adebayo did his best. Governor Fayemi did his best. I did my best.

“In fact, what Baba said about me in 2018 does not correlate with what you are saying he said about me yesterday.”

Some parts of the nation's capital, Abuja and Kogi State are experiencig blackout due to the collapse of a power station.

The two areas earlier mentioned are under the coverage of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

On Tuesday, the AEDC informed its customers in Zamani Estate, Abacha Road Mararaba, Ruga Juli and other parts of Abuja that a technical fault on 33kv feeder k6 from AT9 Karu Transmission Station was responsible for the power outage.

“The management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc wishes to notify its esteemed customers that there is currently a technical fault on 33kv feeder k6 from AT9 Karu Transmission Station, managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

“The areas affected in Abuja are: Zamani Estate, Abacha Road Mararaba, Ruga Juli, Old Karu Road, Glory Estate and environs,” the Disco said in a statement.

The AEDC disclosed that the TCN maintenance crew was working to ensure the supply of electricity to these areas was restored soon, regretting any inconvenience caused.

Earlier, the TCN had announced its maintenance crew would carry out planned maintenance on its TR3 45MVA and TR2 60MVA power transformers in its 132/33kV Okene Transmission Substation.

The maintenance was scheduled to run from Tuesday to Wednesday, from 10 am to 03pm on each day.

Ex-BBNaija star, Doyin has stated that she can never be in a relationship with someone in the limelight.

The reality TV star, in a recent interview with Hip TV, said she does not want her family in public space and wants some sanity outside the social media buzz.

She said she has always dated men in the corporate world, insisting she doesn’t see herself dating a public figure.

Doyin added that she has known her current partner for about a decade.

She said: “I don’t see myself dating somebody in the limelight. All my life, I’ve always dated men in the corporate world. Those are the men I met; maybe it is because of what my life was like before. I have known my current partner for like 10 years.

“I don’t just see myself dating someone in the limelight. I don’t want my family out there. Let me be out there. But I want to go back home to some sanity.

I’m submissive to my partner even now that we are not married. I believe that two people cannot lead a successful relationship. They will clash. One person has to be more agreeable. That’s why I keep saying a woman’s most important job is choosing the right man to lead her.”

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has made a damning accusation against the military.

Following the killing of military personnel in Okuama Community, Delta State, IYC alleged that military men invaded Igbomotoru 2 in Bomo-Ibe Clan of Bayelsa State in the early hours of Sunday 17th March, 2024 and killed 40 people.

While condemning the recent killing of military personnel, the council maintained that Okuama is not also a community in Bayelsa State.

The President of IYC, Dr. Alaye Theophilus, in a statement issued Wednesday, emphasised that the killing of the military personnel did not happen in an Ijaw land and has nothing to do with the Ijaw nation.

It added that the council has also set up an investigation and fact-finding team which is open to supporting the military and other security agencies to get to the root cause of the matter, and possibly bring the killers to face the law.

The council pleaded that while fishing out the killers, that the whole community should not be destroyed because of the action of a few individuals.

It said: “We as a council condemn in its totality the killing of military personnel on official peacekeeping assignment at Okuama Community in Delta State.

“This incident is devilish and inhuman and therefore, no sane minded person can support such an act in any guise.”

The council said as the largest ethnic block in the Niger Delta region, it was concerned about the stability and business-friendly environment of the oil rich region, stressing that “whatever that happens in any part of the region is of serious concern to us.”

It said as a people, what they had experienced over time “is that when an individual does something bad to military men operating in the region, reprisal from the military is always against the entire community.”

The council further noted that: “As we speak, the fears of our people have shown up again as the said Okuama Community has been completely burnt down and all the occupants made homeless, and are now refugees in neighbouring communities.

“We will also draw your attention to the onslaught going on in one of our Ijaw communities in Bayelsa State, Igbomotoru 2 in Bomo-Ibe Clan where the Nigeria military evaded the community at early hours of Sunday 17th March, 2024.

“They opened fire on innocent men, women and children. They killed over 40 people and still counting, without any form of provocation.

“As a council, we condemn what the military is doing in Igbomotoru 2 community.

“What is happening in this community is purely a humanitarian crisis. As we speak, they have held every member of the community hostage as there is no entry or exit to the community. People are now starving to death.”

The council called on the President Bola Tinubu and the Chief of Defence Staff to call the military to order.

A member of the House of Representatives Saidu Abdullahi (APC-Niger) has explained why he wanted a law passed to grant five months leave for female and male workers who lost their spouses.

Abdullahi spoke when the bill he sponsored on the issue scaled second reading at the plenary of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

This followed the presentation of the general principles of the bill by Abdullah.

While presenting the bill, Abdullahi said the legislation, if passed, was to place Nigeria among the top countries in the world in terms of workers’ welfare as the law existed in many countries.

“This crucial piece of legislation aims to address the pressing issue of supporting individuals who have lost their spouses, helping them navigate the challenging period of widowhood,” he said.

He said that research findings had shown that in Nigeria, public sector organisations grant up to 14 days leave for workers who lost their spouses for the burials.

“Therefore, one may say the 14 days prescribed by Public Sector Rules is sufficient but when one looks at the prevalent cultural and religious practices of Nigeria, it seems inadequate.

“It is always necessary that an organisation looks at the cultural context as the way people mourn is deeply rooted in culture.

“In Eastern Nigeria, for instance, the burial of the deceased usually takes place after a few weeks or months and the mourning period for a widow in modern times is three months, even though traditionally it is up to a year.

“In Islam, while mourning is usually three days, the waiting period for a widow is up to four months,” he said.

Abdullahi added:“During this period the bereaved spouse receives visitors for at least a month.

“Therefore, with our culture in view, giving a widower 30 days and a widow five months of widowhood leave for the death of a spouse may be reasonable.”

In his ruling, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas referred the bill to the House Committee on Public Sector Reforms for further legislative actions.

(NAN)

The senate says the process through which the Central Bank of Nigeria awarded N30 trillion Ways and Means loan to the former President Muhammadu Buhari government was fraught with illegality.

This is as the Nigeria upper legislative chamber disclosed that 13 irregularities and infractions were discovered in the process of obtaining the loan.

The Senate ad hoc committee probing the disbursement and usage of the loan by Buhari’s government made the disclosure on Tuesday.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Isah Jibrin (APC, Benue East), said former governor of CBN Godwin Emefiele single-handedly signed billions of naira in the approval of different tranches of the loan.

Speaking during an interactive session with the CBN team led by Bala Bello, one of the deputy governors of the apex bank, he stated that Emefiele did not follow due process in these signings, adding that the erstwhile CBN’s helmsman illegally signed billions of naira in 13 documents.

He asserted that Emefiele actions violated extant laws of the CBNm

The committee chairman said Emefiele ought to have consulted and get the consent of the CBN board of directors before signing off on the loans.

“The committee of governors ought to be the signatories to the ways and means account but in the document we have here, the governor signed billions of naira in about 13 places.

“We want to know the total figure of the ways and means. We want to know the summation of the figure,” Senator Jibrin said.

“On the Anchor Borrowers Programme, you have done well. You did about 70 per cent, but we must ensure the completion of the remaining 30 per cent.”

Senator Jibrin, however, informed that the committee will summon the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, to give a detailed account of what he knows about the ways and means.

“Your governor, who took over from Emefiele, should be able to stand for Emefiele because he took over from him, including his assets.

“Emefiele should provide an explanation to the existing governor. We will invite the governor and in case he does not have a response, he will contact Emefiele,” he stressed

The removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, pushed up the statutory revenue allocations from the Federation Account that was shared by the three tiers of government in 2023 to N10.14tn.

Data released on Tuesday by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in its latest report on the Federation Account revenue allocations for the year 2023, showed that the amount shared by the federal, state and local governments increased by N1.93tn last year, when compared to what they got in 2022.

NEITI attributed this increase to the removal of subsidy on petrol by President Bola Tinubu in May 2023, when he declared during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023 that fuel subsidy was gone.

Tinubu’s declaration was immediately implemented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited the next day, as petrol price jumped from N198/litre to about N500/litre.

The cost of the commodity moved up again within a month to N617/litre at filling stations operated by NNPCL, while other marketers dispense the product at between N660 and N700/litre depending on the area of purchase.

Commenting on the latest report, NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Dr Ogbonnaya Orji, who announced the release of the report at the NEITI House, Abuja, said that the agency embarked on the NEITI FAAC Quarterly Review to enhance public understanding of Federation Account allocations and disbursements as published by government.

“The ultimate objective of this disclosure is to strengthen knowledge, awareness and promote public accountability of all institutions in public finance management,” Orji explained.

A breakdown of the revenue receipts showed that the Federal Government received N3.99tn, representing 39.37 per cent of the total allocation.

The 36 states got N3.585tn representing 35.34 per cent, while the 774 Local Government councils of the Federation shared N2.56tn equivalent to 25.28 per cent.

A further analysis of the N10.143tn disbursements in 2023 showed an increase of N1.934tn or 23.56 per cent when compared to the disbursement of N8.209tn shared in the preceding year of 2022.

The review attributed the increase to improved revenue remittances to the Federation Account due to the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the exchange rate by the new administration.

The report highlighted that while total revenues distributed from the Federation Account recorded an overall increase of 23.56 per cent in 2023, the increase accruing to each tier of government varied, largely due to the type of the revenue streams contributing to the inflows into the Federation Account.

The NEITI Quarterly Review of 2023 FAAC allocations disclosed that the federal, states and local governments cumulatively received N1.934tn more than the amount shared in 2022.

The first quarter of 2023 increased by N579.71bn (33.19 per cent) when compared to the first quarter of 2022. The second quarter increased 10.32 per cent, third quarter by 27.49 per cent, while the fourth quarter had an increase of 23.42 per cent.

The Federal Government’s share increased by N574.21bn (16.79 per cent) from the N3.42tn it received in 2022 to N3.99tn in 2023.

The state governments shared N3.59tn in 2023 compared to the N2.76tn they got in 2022, showing an increase of 29.99 per cent. Similarly, Local Government councils’ share of federation allocation was N2.57tn in 2023 compared to N2.032tn in the 2022, which amounts to a 26.22 per cent increase.

While total distributed revenue from the Federation Account recorded an overall increase of 23.56 per cent in 2023, the increase accruing to each tier of government varied, largely due to the type of revenue item contributing to the inflows into the Federation Account.

In the same period (2023), states and Local Governments recorded increases in their allocations by 29.99 per cent and 26.22 per cent respectively. The increase in allocation to the Federal Government, however, was 16.79 per cent

State by state share of the allocations showed that Delta State received the largest share of N402.26bn (gross). The figure is inclusive of the state’s share of oil and gas derivation revenue.

Delta was followed by Rivers State which received N398.53bn. Akwa-Ibom State received the third largest allocation of N293.58bn. Nasarawa State received the least amount of N73.32bn, while Ebonyi and Ekiti states received N73.91bn and N74.04bn respectively.

The review observed that the first five states that topped the allocation during the period under review are among the major oil producing states in the country.

On the share of 13 per cent derivation revenue, nine states received the 13 per cent allocated to mineral producing states from the proceeds from mineral revenue.

The derivation revenue remains a significant portion of revenue for states like Delta, Akwa Ibom, Anambra and Rivers states. Also, the derivation revenues of states such as Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa, which were 161.47 per cent, 141.25 per cent and 127.89 per cent respectively, eclipsed their statutory revenues.

Rivers State’s derivation revenue was 74.15 per cent during the period. Notably, the other five oil producing states recorded lesser derivation revenue compared to the four above.

For example, Ondo State had 27.71 per cent, Edo had 30.04 per cent, while Abia, Anambra and Imo recorded a derivation revenue of about 20 per cent or less.

The NEITI report noted that solid minerals producing states did not receive derivation revenues during the last quarter of last year because of the need to allow the revenues to accumulate over a period of time before sharing can occur.

On direct deductions from state, Delta State recorded by far the largest debt deductions in 2023. With total deduction of N12.97bn, Delta debt deduction was more than the deductions for Bauchi State, the second largest in 2023 by N282m. Lagos State recorded the least cumulative debt deductions amounting to N370m.

The report stated that the reduced debt burden was attributable more to the increase in the size of Federation Account allocations than a reduction in the size of debt.

“The stark similarity in the debt size and sustainability charts indicates that states’ borrowing decisions are being determined by the size of their Federation Account allocations and expected future earnings.

“While this pattern indicates good fiscal decisions by the states, it may also cause states to increase their current borrowing as revenues from the Federation Account allocations are beginning to increase,” NEITI stated in its report.

Other key findings of the report showed that revenue remittances to the Federation Account fluctuated significantly on monthly basis due to corresponding fluctuations in oil and gas revenue.

Oil and gas revenues reflected crude oil prices and Nigeria’s output which in turn is significantly affected by crude oil theft and acts of sabotage.

The report pointed out that the main sources of revenue inflows to the Federation Account/contributors to the Federation Account in 2023 were the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigeria Customs Service, through earnings from the different revenue stream.

This include oil, gas royalties, petroleum profit tax, company income tax, value added tax, import and excise duties.

The report also revealed that revenue from solid minerals sector was very negligible, and reflects the underperformance of the sector. The NEITI Quarterly Review proffered key recommendations for enhanced performance of the Federation Account.

“Government (the National Assembly and the Executive) should adopt more conservative estimates for crude oil prices and output to enhance budgetary performance, reduce budget deficits and borrowing and strengthen fiscal stabilisation.

“NEITI renewed its earlier recommendations for the Federal Government to highly prioritise the ongoing efforts at economic diversification and investment to improve power generation to encourage small, medium and large businesses to promote local production, reduce import and dependence on oil revenues,” it stated.

NEITI’s FAAC Quarterly Reviews also underlined the need for states to join hands with the Federal Government to deal with insecurity in rural communities where agro-based businesses thrive, pay attention to internally generated revenues through innovations and leadership that are citizen-centered.

The Senate has expressed the fear that Nigeria may not recover N358 billion about 30 per cent of the N1.1 trillion Anchor Borrowers.

The Senate said the N1.1 trillion has an impressive repayment rate of up to 70 per cent but added that the rest of the 30 per cent amounting to N358 billion are loans given to low-income farmers which have very high risk.

This came up yesterday at the Senate Ad-hoc Committee probing the N30 trillion Ways and Means loans to the federal government and Anchor Borrowers Programme.

The chairman of the committee, Isah Jibrin (Kogi East), who met with officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the National Assembly, said they must do everything to recover the debt.

The CBN team was led by the deputy governor for corporate services, Bala Bello, who made presentations on “Ways and Means and Anchor Borrowers”.

Senator Jibrin said the committee was able to extract useful information from them, which would guide their next level of discussion.

He said the committee had issues with approvals in areas where it was discovered that the CBN governor “unilaterally gave approvals”, which is abnormal to the committee.
The committee could not get immediate explanation for that and therefore gave 24 hours to provide the necessary explanation.

Meanwhile, the Senate has extended the implementation of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Act from 31st March, 2024 to 30th June, 2024.
The Senate had earlier extended the life span of the N21.8 trillion 2023 budget from 31st December 2023 to March 31, 2024.

The extension of the budget lifeline followed the Second reading of the bill read by the Senate leader, Bamidele Michael Opeyemi (Ekiti Central).
Bamidele said the release of capital component of the budget to the MDAs is unlikely to be utilize before March 31, 2023 if it is not extended.