Ikpeazu Gets Lifeline As Court of Appeal Maintains Status Quo
Embattled Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu got a huge relief on Tuesday as the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja told him to retain his seat pending the time the court will hear his appeal challenging the judgment of a Federal High Court which removed him from office.
Justice Morenikeji Ogunwumiju who presided over a five-member panel of judges said the parties in the matter must “remain as they were” before the case got to court.
However, she said the ruling did not mean a stay-of-execution order.
A Federal High Court had on June 27 nullified Ikpeazu’s election after holding that he submitted false information regarding his tax clearance certificate. ThisDay
Buhari opens Abuja-Kaduna rail line for services
President Muhammadu Buhari has opened the first phase of the Abuja-Kaduna Standard Rail Gauge for services, promising to boost rail transportation in the country.
Towards this end, his administration would pursue a 25-Year Strategic Railway Master Plan which is aimed at rehabilitating the existing 3,505km narrow gauge rail lines, and developing as well as constructing new standard gauge rail lines across the country.
Though conceptualised by the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006, the actual execution of the project started in 2009 under the administration of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2009. Guardian
Ambassadorial nominees unable to recite national anthem, pledge
The Senate on Tuesday began the screening of the 47 ambassadorial nominees sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari for legislative approval.
Buhari had on June 9 sent to the Senate 47 names of Nigerians to be screened and confirmed as career diplomats.
The President, in the letter personally signed by him and dated June 6, 2016, requested the Senate to approve the list at the shortest possible time.
There was, however, drama during the exercise as some of the nominees, who were drilled by members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, could not recite the national anthem and the national pledge smoothly. Punch
Militants sack Lagos estate, shoot three policemen
There was chaos on Tuesday on Pacific Estate, Ikejiobi Avenue, Ewedogbon, in the Igando area of Lagos State after some militants engaged security operatives in a gun battle for about seven hours.
During the encounter, three policemen attached to the Igando Police Division and two residents, identified as Baba Victor and Adedokun, were injured.
Our correspondent gathered that the gunmen, who were suspected to be militants, had invaded the community around 6am through the waterways behind the estate. Punch
Revealed: NASS padded 2016 budget with N481bn
Despite strident denials by top officials of the National Assembly, it has been discovered that the legislators padded the 2016 budget to the tune of N481 billion. Documents obtained by Vanguard showed that apart from padding the budget with the huge sum, forcing the Presidency to raise alarm over it, NASS also unilaterally jerked the votes meant for constituency projects from N60 billion to N100 billion.
But the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdul Jibrin, who was fired last week, had said the Speaker allowed 10 committee chairmen to insert projects worth N284 billion and washed his hands off the illegal action. Vanguard
Yoruba, Hausa residents clash in Lagos: 3 killed, Customs officer injured
Three persons were shot dead yesterday, during a shootout between hoodlums and some officers attached to the Federal Operations Zone A, Ikeja, of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, at White Sand community in Ijora Badia area of Lagos State.
Three others, among who was a Customs officer, also sustained gunshot injuries. Trouble started, Monday, following a clash between Hausa and Yoruba residents over accusation by the latter that the former had been terrorising the area. Vanguard
We had no hand in failed Turkey coup, says UBA
The United Bank of Africa (UBA) has officially denied involvement in the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15.
Yenisafak, a Turkish newspaper, had alleged that UBA played a key role in the distribution of funds for the facilitation of the failed coup.
However, Charles Aigbe, divisional head, marketing and corporate relations of UBA, said the bank was neither “involved” nor “connected” to the coup attempt, which ended in futility.
“We aware of the ongoing and spurious media speculation linking our institution to recent events in Turkey,” Aigbe said in a statement made available to TheCable.
“In light of this, we believe it is necessary to categorically state that UBA has no involvement in or connection to these accusations, which are clearly false. The Cable
Business News
Amosun seeks review of VAT sharing formula
Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has canvassed a review of the sharing formula of revenues accruing to the federation account through non-oil taxes, including the Value Added Tax (VAT).
Amosun who spoke in Abeokuta insisted that recent development has made it inevitable for the review.
He explained that the non-oil revenue sharing formula currently in use is obsolete noting as at the time it was introduced 20 years ago, Ogun State, was way back because of the number of industrial firms it had then. Guardian
CBN raises interest rate to 14%, warns banks
Against expectations of financial analysts that the Monetary Policy Rate would remain unchanged at 12 per cent, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday hiked the MPR by 200 basis points to 14 per cent.
The 14 per cent MPR announced by the CBN is the highest in over a decade.
However, the committee left the Cash Reserve Ratio and the liquidity ratio unchanged at 22.5 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. Punch
CBN orders banks to publish all forex transactions on FMDQ
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered banks to publish details of all foreign exchange transactions on the Financial Market Dealers Quote (FMDQ) platform.
Meanwhile the naira depreciated by 1.5 percent (N4.5) at the interbank foreign exchange market for spot transactions. From N305.25 per dollar at the end of transactions on Friday, the exchange rate for spot transactions dropped rose to N309.84 per dollar at the close of business yesterday. But at the parallel market the naira remained relatively stable as the parallel market rate stood at N376 per dollar. Announcing the directive of the CBN in an email to foreign exchange dealers, Managing Director/Chief Executive FMDQ, Mr. Bola Onadele said, “Banks should “update all trades irrespective of the exchange rate. Vanguard
Slow budget implementation, naira at 245/$1… 7 lessons from the CBN MPC meeting
The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) concluded its policy decision meeting on Tuesday, opting to raise key interest rates and keep other indices steady.
Much more than the key decisions reached by the committee, here are seven other lessons we learnt from the CBN:
BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION HAS BEEN SLOW
In his press briefing immediately after the meeting, Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN, said “the implementation of the 2016 budget in the second quarter remained slower than expected in the second quarter”.
He added that the committee noted that most of the conditions undermining domestic output growth were outside the direct purview of monetary policy. The Cable
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