The naira, on Monday, appreciated to N1,250 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.

The FX rate is a 0.43 percent increase from the N1,280 recorded on March 29.

Currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the buying rate of the greenback at N1,230 and the selling price at N1,250 — leaving a profit margin of N20.

“The dollar keeps declining and it is affecting business but business is picking up gradually,” a currency trader named Aliyu said.

At the official section of the FX market, the local currency depreciated by 0.69 percent to N1,309.39/$ on March 28 — from N1,300.43/$ on March 27.

Meanwhile, Aminu Gwadabe, president, Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), on March 31, said the recall of members into the FX market has led to stability in the exchange rate.

“The reconsideration of the BDCs into the mainstream foreign exchange market has not only cleared illegal economic behaviours of hoarding, rent-seeking, round tripping and FX holding position, and led to the emergence of exchange rate convergence,” Gwadabe said.

Gwadabe also said the increase in FX inflows through the CBN’s monetary tools boosts foreign reserves, granting the apex bank the power to defend the local currency.

John Okeke, commander of the joint military force deployed to the Niger Delta, says troops have rescued the students abducted along the east-west road in the Ughelli area of Delta state.

The students were abducted after their Sienna vehicle was attacked on Friday evening as they returned from Calabar, the Cross River capital.

Speaking in an interview with NAN, Okeke said nine victims, including a corps member and naval rating, were rescued by the troops.

The commander said 10 suspected kidnappers were arrested during the rescue operation.

“In continuation to ensure safety of lives and property in the Niger Delta Region, the gallant troops of the Joint Task Force South South Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), comprising troops of Quick Response Force (QRF) of Headquarters OPDS, Land, Maritime, and Air Components, on Monday, April 1, 2024, rescued nine kidnap victims,” Okeke said.

“The freed victims were kidnapped on 29 March 2024, along Patani-Ughelli road in Delta state.

“During the rescue operation, 10 suspects were arrested. Among the rescued victims are a naval rating and an NYSC member.”

The commander warned criminal elements in the Niger Delta region to desist from their activities, adding that the troops will provide the security needed in the region.

He urged residents to always provide useful information to security agencies on criminal activities within their communities.

Chinedu Ogah, a member of the House of Representatives from the All Progressives Congress has said former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai is not a match for President Bola Tinubu.

This followed speculations that El-Rufai is planning to form an alliance with the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.

There were even some reports claiming that Obi and El-Rufai have formed an alliance to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.

Reacting, Ogah, the lawmaker representing the lkwo/Ezza South federal constituency of Ebonyi State and the chairman of the House Committee on Reformatory Institutions, argued that Tinubu is no match among opposition politicians who are preparing to contest in the next presidential poll in 2027.

Speaking to newsmen, Ogah maintained that he has not seen any politician in the country that can contest against Tinubu because of his performance and track record.

He insisted that Tinubu is aware of the problems plaguing the country and is already making efforts to fix them.

He said, “President Tinubu is doing perfectly well; he is doing very well. You may hate Tinubu but he is doing well in his administration, tackling the challenges in the country.

“The President has made us legislators sit up and every legislator is busy in his/her constituency attending to the people’s needs because 2023 has shown that if you are not on ground, the people will vote you out.

“The rural people that were regarded as illiterates are now more learned than us and they now know how to vote and who to vote for in an election. If you are not representing well, the people will vote you out.

“So, the President is doing very well and that was why most of us were singing his praises to come into power because he knows the problems of the country and how to solve them, and he is solving them.

“Who is contesting against the President in 2027? Who will run against him? I have even endorsed the President for 2027 and I have not seen anybody that will match him. I have not seen anybody that will match Tinubu in 2027; forget the noise on social media some people are making. Is it El-Rufai who could not win Kaduna, his state, that will match him? He is not an issue if he is running.”

The Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria has said that the recovery of the naira has led to a relative decrease in the prices of goods and services in the country.

The president of the association, Aminu Gwadebe, said this in a statement issued on Saturday.

He hailed the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to allow Bureaux de Change to operate in the foreign currency market, adding that it was a major factor in the recovery of the naira.

The CBN banned the operations of BDCs in July 2001 as part of measures to stabilise the local currency.

ABCON had been championing the campaign for BDCs to be allowed to operate formally in the currency market.

The apex bank in February reinstated BDCs in the official forex market.

In the statement, the ABCON president said aside from monetary policy tightening that led to interest rate hikes and more investment in government instruments and clearance of forex backlog forward commitments, the recall of the BDCs had significantly boosted dollar liquidity at the retail end of the forex market.

Gwadabe noted, “The current development in the foreign exchange market has started reining in inflation as the prices of most necessities are becoming relatively lower in the market. On a most serious note, the positive impacts also include heightened confidence of the public in the local currency as it eliminates currency substitution behaviour, which has hitherto been adding pressure on our local currency.

“The reconsideration of the BDCs into the mainstream foreign exchange market has not only demystified illegal economic behaviours such as hoarding, rent-seeking, round-tripping, and FX holding positions but also led to the emergence of exchange rate convergence.”

He added that with the recovery of the naira, the price of international school fees had dropped by 15 per cent; the cost of medical tourism had been reduced by 20 per cent and prices of air fares for local and international trips had dipped by 25 per cent.

Gwadabe remarked that the success story was unending as the naira traded at 1,255/$ on Saturday, lower than the 1,269.77/$ BDCs were advised to sell.

Describing the ongoing market development as revolutionary, Gwadabe declared that a stable naira would attract more foreign portfolio inflows to the economy.

He averred that the gains of the CBN under the governor, Dr Olayemi Cardoso, in recognising the power of BDCs in securing stable exchange rates cannot be over-emphasised.

He also maintained that previous practices where Nigerians based in Dubai brought dollars home for sale at high rates had ceased, after the rapid recovery of the naira against the American greenback.

Going forward, he stated that prospects for forex earnings were promising, with foreign portfolio investments on the rise and over $1.5bn inflows a few days after the Monetary Policy Committee raised the interest rate by two per cent.

He declared: “It is our view that the collaboration between the BDCs, CBN, National Security Adviser, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, as well as support from the Presidency, helped in creating the opportunity for building the foundation of this achievement. Overall, the combination of these actions has induced an atmosphere of public calmness, confidence, hope and liquidity in the markets.

“We call, therefore, on the CBN to continue to calibrate the existing relationship between the BDCs and the apex bank to sustain the success story.”

The Federal Government, on Monday, announced that the new price of natural gas for power generation companies is now $2.42 per metric million British thermal unit, higher than the previous rate of $2.18mmbtu.

Nigeria generates over 70 per cent of its electricity from thermal power plants that are fired by gas. Therefore, the rise in the cost of the commodity may lead to a hike in the tariff payable by power consumers once the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission carries out another tariff review.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, an agency of the Federal Government, unveiled the new domestic base price and wholesale prices of natural gas for 2024 in an announcement on Monday.

The NMDPRA also pegged the cost of commercial gas at $2.92mmbtu, up from the previous cost of $2.5mmbtu. The announcement was signed by the Chief Executive, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed.

Recall that the Multi-Year Tariff Order released by NERC in January 2024 for the electricity distribution companies was calculated based on the previous price of natural gas.

Therefore, going by the latest cost of the commodity, there is a high tendency for an upward review of power tariffs, as gas is a major component used in power production.

Gas producers including international and domestic oil and gas companies, have repeatedly called for the upward review in the price of the product, stressing that this would be an incentive to ramp up production.

In the announcement on Monday, Ahmed said the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 assented to by the President on August 16, 2021, and gazetted in August 2021, provided a clear regulatory framework for the determination of a market-based pricing regime for the domestic gas market.

The NMDPRA boss further stated that the latest action was taken in line with section 167, the third and fourth schedule of the PIA 2021, which mandated the regulator to determine the Domestic Base Price and the marketable wholesale price of natural gas supplied to the strategic sectors.

He said, “The DBP at the marketable gas delivery point under Sector 167(1) and other provisions of the PIA shall be determined based on regulations which incorporate among such other matters, the following principles.

“(a) The price must be of a level to bring forward sufficient natural gas supplies for the domestic market on a voluntary basis by the upstream producers.

“(b) The price shall not be higher than the average of similar natural gas prices in major emerging countries that are significant producers of natural gas.

“(c) Lowest cost of gas supply based on three-tier cost of supply framework. (d) Market-related prices tied to international benchmarks.”

The NMDPRA, therefore, emphasised that it had set the “2024 Domestic Base Price at $2.42/MMBTU and wholesale prices for natural gas in strategic sectors, following consultations with stakeholders and in compliance with the PIA and Gas Pricing Regulations.”

A 32-year-old suspected kidnapper, Roland Raymond has been arrested by the Adamawa State Police Command for the offense of criminal intimidation associated with kidnapping.

The suspect, who is a resident of Detti village, Ganye LGA, was arrested following a report by Alhaji Yahya Congo and Abraham Paul, who stated that the suspect called them via phone and demanded the sum of 600,000 Naira or risk being kidnapped.

Upon receipt of the complaints, the police in Ganye Division, in collaboration with hunters, swiftly mobilized and arrested the suspect at the point of collecting the demanded money.

Confirming the arrest, the spokesperson of the command, The suspect will be Charged to Court after investigation.

I sympathize with Mohammed Bello Adoke, referred to above simply as Citizen Adoke. Not necessarily because I know him personally, he and I, having served this country during the tenure of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, former President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Adoke from 2010 – 2015, and this writer from 2011 – 2015. I sympathize with him because of what Nigeria has done to him and how he has now become another living example of how many technocrats would rather shun the arena of public service because of how badly Nigeria has treated them, thus making it difficult for the best and the brightest to step forward to contribute to their nation’s development. I recall that many years ago, shortly after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, and the return to civilian rule in 1999, one of the major arguments put forward by civil society was that the military having messed up the country so badly, the return to politics and governance, as the military took their exit, never again to return, should be built on the involvement and participation of distinguished Nigerian technocrats in politics – men and women who have been tested in the field of practice and who could bring their experience to the public field.

This encouraged a significant number of persons – academics, lawyers, Nigerians at home and in diaspora, medical experts, engineers and accountants to elect to serve their country, if only to prove to the soldiers that the civilian populace could govern and that democracy is the best form of government. President Olusegun Obasanjo emerged from the residue of the 1993 – 1999 crisis as Nigerian President. In fairness to him, he bought into this logic and recruited personnel from across the spectrum. There were many Nigerians abroad who were persuaded to pack their luggage and return to serve their country. Other leading professionals at home joined the government, having been called upon to serve, many of them personally by Obasanjo. President Yar’Adua (2007 – 2010) also followed Obasanjo’s example. It soon became normal to have popular persons who had done well in professional practice serving in government, on the executive side and even more so in the legislature at all levels. Under President Goodluck Jonathan, the tradition continued. He had a team of bright technocrats, including some of the very best in their fields.

However, the sad part of the recruitment of the best and the brightest into the governance of Nigeria is that many of these talented persons often end up either being frustrated out of the system, or they end up being set up for infractions, or at worst, as is common, they are left with bruised hearts and egos. I once heard the story of an accomplished engineer who had worked in a top engineering company in the United States who was brought home to re-design some structures for the Nigerian electricity network. He came up with his designs which he thought would be cost-effective and deliver on the objective, but what he proposed would result in the demolition of some houses belonging to very powerful Nigerians. He was promptly advised to change his design to save those houses. He put up a spirited argument about engineering, cost and credibility. He was told that in this country some persons and spaces are untouchable. He quoted engineering expertise. He had to be reminded that Nigeria is not the United States. Out of frustration, the fellow packed his luggage and left. He would rank as one of the luckiest.

Many others who thought that they could join the post-military train and help save Nigeria were not so lucky. There are examples of Nigerians who have tried to save Nigeria but have paid with their lives, or the lives of their relatives, or who remain scarred for life. When they are invited to serve, it is natural for them to see that as a special form of recognition, out of a large population of more than 200 million people. But Nigeria is like a stockfish: when you think you can bend it with bare hands, you may end up bending your hands in the process. Many who tried did so in vain. The stories are many, and I do not want to delve into too many individual tales, because every example has its own peculiar details, true and fictional, real and imagined, since those we identify as the best and the brightest have their own individuality and moral peccadilloes.

I started with Citizen Adoke and it is his story that I want to tell as I know it. He has himself told a better part of his story in his partly biographical book, Burden of Service (Clink Street, 2019) in which he reported that having attained the esteemed rank of an SAN, he dreamt of becoming the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the Federation. He shared that dream with his mother, and they both prayed over it. He not only attained the silk, he also became Nigeria’s 21st Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice – a call of destiny for a poor, little boy from Nagazi, who read law by accident, and had to borrow a jacket for his university matriculation, only to be de-robed and humiliated publicly by the owner of the suit, and who in addition had to survive university education with the benevolence of friends who helped him with a 0-1-0 regime. Those who know, know what it means to go through university as an indigent student. After his Law School Education, Adoke even had to attend his Call to Bar ceremony in borrowed robes. He had no family or relative in attendance. But he was one of those who survived the odds. He practised law in Kano, acquired more education in Switzerland, and the UK, struggled to get to the top of the game and he ended up as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). His book, Burden of Service basically tells the story of how he got to the very top of his profession, across the ranks and in public service. He gives an account of his dedicated service and the reforms and the innovations that he brought to bear as Nigeria’s 21st Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. It was an achievement that he loved and that he was proud of. But there were burdens and none was more punitive, like the Cross, than the experience he went through after leaving office.

The Jonathan administration under which he served lost the 2015 Presidential election to an opposition party, the All Progressives- Congress (APC) which has been ruling Nigeria since then till date. As soon as the PDP lost the election, the APC even before assuming office went after the Jonathan officials. Adoke was one of the main targets. In August 2015, he left Nigeria for further studies at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. In November 2015, he was invited for questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was accused of having collected bribe in the implementation of the OPL 245 Settlement Agreement, and that he waived taxes to get some personal settlement and used the proceeds of the same illegal settlement to buy property. He was traced all the way to the Netherlands where his apartment was searched for money laundering and corruption investigation reasons. His house in Abuja and in his home town of Okene, Kogi State were also searched. He received reports that there was a plan afoot to eliminate him, and that the whole matter was not just about allegations of a felony. He offers further clarifications and details in Chapter Eight (The Witch-Hunters) and Chapter Nine (The Mischief) in Burden of Service (2019).

In December 2016, he and eight others were formally charged at the Federal High Court, Abuja in respect of the OPL 245 transaction. His name was mentioned in two out of the nine charges, bordering on conspiracy, aiding and abetting and money laundering. His name was further mentioned in cases in other jurisdictions – Italy and London, involving the Italian oil giant, Agip-Eni, Shell and Malabu Oil and Gas. In 2020, the EFCC again filed another case against Mohammed Bello Adoke in the Federal High Court of Abuja accusing him of collecting N300 million gratification from the OPL 245 Transaction.

In Burden of Service, Adoke has argued that the allegations against him were malicious, because as he put it: “I did the best for my country. I saved my country from a certain liability of a $2 billion claim by Royal Dutch Shell at the International Centre for the Settlement of Disputes (ICSID), an organ of the World Bank. More so, the $210 million signature bonus paid for OPL 245 by Shell and Eni is the highest in the history of Nigeria. I did nothing wrong. I did not take a bribe, not even a cup of water, or a slice of cake. Along the line, the narrative about my role has been severely twisted, but the dust will settle someday and the whole truth will come out as straight as an arrow. Truth is so stubborn it refuses to give up until it triumphs.” Adoke did not fold his arms. He fought every challenge to his integrity in every court and in every jurisdiction. In the Nigerian courts, he and his lawyers made a “no case submission”. In January 2024, the EFCC eventually admitted that it indeed had no evidence against Mohammed Bello Adoke and that it had no objection to his “no case submission”. This was after the EFCC had presented its case for three years and after calling 10 witnesses. Last week, on March 27, the Federal Capital (FCT) High Court ruled definitively in the matter with Justice Abubakar Kutigi chastising the EFCC for filing frivolous charges against Adoke and six others. He commended the prosecution for conceding that it had no credible evidence to oppose the no-case application by Adoke and others but complained that the agency simply wasted four years and that the defendant should not have been charged in the first place. The prosecution failed to prove the essential elements of the offences for which the defendants were charged. His Lordship dismissed the EFCC case, and admonished the EFCC not to file such frivolous charges in the future. In effect, the Nigerian government has lost all the cases it filed or in which it was joined in Italy, the UK and even here in Nigeria with regard to OPL 245. This is scandalous.

It must be noted that in 2016, Adoke sought an order of the Federal High Court, Nigeria declaring that his involvement in the negotiation, execution and implementation of the OPL 245 Resolution Agreements was in line with Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution and that he could not be held liable on personal grounds. The Court, notably, found in his favour. In 2021, the Italian Court in Milan, discharged and acquitted all defendants in the OPL 245 case. Adoke was not on trial in Milan but his name was mentioned - another victory for him nonetheless. In 2022, the Federal Government further lost its case against Adoke and JP Morgan at the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales Commercial Court. At every turn, the Nigerian Government could not establish that any fraud had been committed in the OPL 245 transaction.

This is why this is a major triumph for all the defendants in the case. The full story of OPL 245 is in the public domain. Truth has now prevailed. Justice Kutigi spoke of the waste of four years by the EFCC. This is more than that. The EFCC and the Nigerian Government spent four years on a wild goose chase around the world from Italy, to London and here in Nigeria, on the frivolous pursuit of a case in which they lacked evidence. Even when courts in Italy and London dismissed the OPL 245 case, Nigeria kept at it, looking for every opportunity to nail persons they had condemned before any trial. The justice system should not work like that. This is a very bad commentary on our justice administration system. Our justice system must never be used to settle personal or political scores. In other parts of the world, before a person or an entity is charged to court, there would have been a diligent attempt to find and establish evidence and a prima facie case. Where this does not stand in the court of law, the matter is promptly dispensed with as seen in the handling of the OPL case in Italy and the UK.

In Nigeria, politics is more important than the law. Cases are delayed and you could be on trial for years even when you are innocent. Once you are marked out by the state as an adversary, the evidence does not matter. Mohammed Bello Adoke and others must count themselves lucky indeed. It is now possible to see reason in Adoke’s argument that he considers himself the target of a witch-hunt by the Nigerian government. I have singled him out to praise his resilience to get justice and prove his innocence. He serves as an example of why many Nigerians would rather stay away from public service. Justice Kutigi spoke of the EFCC wasting four years. I think that has to be calculated in real terms: the EFCC wasted the time of the court and wasted all the Nigerian resources spent in pursuit of a case that has now failed from one court to another.

The falsely accused lost more than four years. OPL 245 was such a cause celebre in which members of the public took positions. For more than four years, Adoke could not even return to Nigeria. He was in exile, away from work, family and friends. In December 2019, he was intercepted in Dubai, UAE by Interpol and detained for five weeks before he was brought back to the country. Nigeria had placed the name of its former Attorney General and Minister of Justice on an Interpol list of wanted persons! And now the same country says the same man has no case to answer. Nigeria must learn to be fair and more diligent and professional in the prosecution of allegations of misdeeds. The Federal Government owes Adoke and all others in the OPL 245 case an apology. The FG must also compensate them. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must personally put a closure to the defamation by giving the necessary directives to address this gross embarrassment and ensure that under his watch, the EFCC and other agencies do not engage in any form of gross misconduct.

Arrangements have been concluded for President Bola Tinubu to depart Abuja, Nigeria’s capital to attend the inauguration of Senegal’s President-elect, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

He is billed to leave Abuja on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, for Dakar, Senegal, following an official invitation from the Republic of Senegal.

According to Tinubu’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale on Monday, the President who doubles as the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, will join other regional leaders to witness the inauguration at Diamniadio Exhibition Centre on Tuesday.

He noted that the Nigerian President will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and other senior government officials.

“Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria after the conclusion of the inauguration,” the terse statement added.

Spokesperson for the Obi-Datti campaign organization, Yinusa Tanko has made a revelation concerning the crisis rocking the Labour Party.

He stated that the Party chairman, Julius Abure refused to obey advice given by Obi on how to resolve the party crisis.

Tanko’s comments come in the wake of the party’s national convention, which has sparked controversy within its ranks.

Peter Obi, who served as the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, had apparently offered counsel aimed at forestalling the kind of discord now being witnessed.

Tanko critiqued the party’s recent national convention, highlighting it as a missed opportunity for broader participation.

He argued that the event, which saw Julius Abure reelected as the national chairman, lacked inclusivity and did not fully represent the party’s diverse membership.

The critique sheds light on the internal dynamics and challenges facing the Labour Party as it navigates post-election realities and internal governance issues.

He said in an interview on Channels TV, “His Excellency, Peter Obi, has made a concerted effort in trying to intervene at any point we have this particular issue and trying to improve.

“When the issue of the national convention came up, he (Obi) suggested to the national chairman that because we are bigger now, we need to have a wider consultation: meet with responsible and interested people such as the TUC and NLC, stakeholders, the Obidient group – young generation people who are interested in seeing Nigeria work. Meet with leaders who have different ideas that can midwife us into a greater height.

“All of these were the suggestions that he (Obi) made, and not only did he make those suggestions, he practicalised them because he met with the members of the National Assembly.

“He (Obi) met with the leadership of the party recently in Asaba trying to give them ideas on how he thinks certain things could be done and you could improve our situation but of course, you know how politics is, sometimes, people may be trying to encourage people, but they do something different.

“You can only take a horse to the river, but you cannot force it to drink water, so that’s exactly what Peter Obi has done, he has done so greatly to see if we can find a solution to some of the problems we find ourselves.”

He said while Abure has the right to contest the national chairmanship position again, it was only proper that the right things are done by opening the door for more people to be part of the process.

Tanko noted that Abure went outside an initial agreement to have an all-inclusive national convention which ought to start from the ward, local government and state levels before the national level.

He said that the convention held in Nnewi Anambra State that returned Abure as the party’s leader did not conform with that agreement and therefore was not acceptable to everyone within the party.

Asked if the crisis in the party could be a problem for Obi in the next election, Tanko said Obi is a brand of his own and that he and other people will always move with him wherever he goes to.