News
‘Probe Obasanjo or Forget Anti-Corruption War’
A former Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources, Senator Joseph Waku, on Tuesday in Kaduna asked President Muhammadu Buhari to either probe former President Olusegun Obasanjo or forget about his current war against corruption in the country.
He also predicted that without Buhari, the governing party was bound to lose the 2019 general election.
He said Nigerians would not take President Buhari’s fight against corruption seriously if Obasanjo was left untouched by anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Punch
We Need Credible Information to Rescue Chibok girls – Buhari
To successfully rescue the abducted Chibokgirls, the government needs credible information on their exact location and the cooperation of relevant persons, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.
He spoke in a meeting with former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, at the Presidential villa, Abuja, yesterday.
Relaying what transpired at the closed-door meeting between him and the President with State House correspondents, Gowon said President Buhari was committed to finding the abducted girls. Vanguard
What Kerry Discussed with Buhari, 5 govs
President Muhammadu Buhari with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday
The United States has pledged more support to Nigeria’s anti-graft fight even as it praised President Muhammadu Buhari’s courage.
“We applaud what you are doing. Corruption creates a ready-made playing field for recruiting extremists,” visiting U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, told Buhari at a closed-door meeting at the Presidential Villa yesterday.DailyTrust
President Blames Prolonged Insurgency on Corrupt Officials
President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed the protracted insurgency in the North-east on corruption and the embezzlement of funds meant to acquire equipment to fight terrorists in the regions by some government and military officials.
Yet, as the president was laying the blame on the doorsteps of some corrupt officials, the Nigerian military in its latest aerial assault against Boko Haram enclaves in the North-east, said it killed several of the sect’s commanders, including a fatally wounded man believed to be the eccentric leader of the terror group Abubakar Shekau.
Speaking yesterday at the launch of the Reviewed National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the president described the behaviour of the guilty officials as “disgraceful and wicked”. Thisday
Boko Haram: Borno AG calls for Modu Sheriff’s arrest
Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Borno state, Hon Kaka Shehu Lawan has accused former governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff of being responsible for the growth of the dreaded Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, saying he should be arrested and prosecuted.
Alimodu-Sheriff Lawan who spoke Tuesday at one of the sessions at the ongoing annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Port Harcourt said arrest of Sheriff over his alleged role in the emergence of Boko Haram will assuage the feelings of millions that have been dislocated by the terrorist actions of the dreaded Islamic group in one way or the other. Vanguard
Edo Gov’ship: PDP Set For Protest over Alleged Arrest of Members
Members of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State will embark on a peaceful protest over what the party’s state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, described as unwarranted arrest of members in the state.
Orbih, who made the allegation at a campaign rally held at Ogbeson Quarters, near Benin, said that the recent incident in Okada, Ovia North- East Local Government Area, where 13 PDP youths were arrested on “trumped up charges” was unacceptable. DailyTrust
Edo, Abia Workers Protest Unpaid Salaries
The Edo State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress on Tuesday staged a protest against the alleged inhuman treatment meted out to workers, especially the non-payment of salaries by many state governments across the country.
It also condemned the alleged killing of two of its members during a protest in Nasarawa State as well as the death of retired civil servants, due to the non-payment of their pensions.
Members of the union, who wore black armbands to signify mourning, also decried the numerous challenges faced by the workers in the 36 states of the federation. Punch
I Have No Preferred Aspirant — Ondo APC chair
The Ondo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Isaac Kekemeke, says he has no preferred aspirant among the 24 contenders for the party’s governorship ticket.
Mr Kekemeke said this in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking with journalists after a closed-door meeting with Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led APC National Working Committee (NWC) at the party’s national secretariat. DailyTrust
Buhari: We Won’t Use Force Against N’Delta Militants, Unless…
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that government will not resort to the use of force to stop the militancy in the Niger Delta, except it is forced to do so.
A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari made the promise when he received the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, at the State House, Abuja.
Buhari said though militancy in the Niger Delta had impacted negatively on the economy and affected the positive intentions of international and local investors, government was showing restraint not to use real force, “except when constrained to do so”. DailyTrust
…INEC Distributes Non-Sensitive Materials
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of non-sensitive materials to the 18 local government areas of the state.
Speaking with journalists during the distribution yesterday, the commission’s assistant director in charge of voters education and publicity, Mrs. Sule Imodu, said the distribution was to enable the various local governments prepare well ahead of the polls. She explained that as part of effort to intensify sensitization and education of voters before the election, three operational vehicles had been earmarked for the three senatorial districts of the state. DailyTrust
JTF kills Two Avengers, Arrests Three Militants
The Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Delta Safe, has killed two members of the Niger Delta Avengers and arrested three others over the killing of four soldiers in Bayelsa State.
Gunmen, suspected to be militants, had on August 8, 2016 attacked and killed four soldiers stationed at a military checkpoint at the entrance of Nembe community, in Nembe Local Government Area of the state.
The gunmen, who were dressed in mourning outfit as if they were on a funeral procession, ambushed the detachment of the ODS, killed the soldiers and carted away their arms, ammunition and military gunboat. Punch
Business News
$2.3bn NNPC funds: CBN Bars 9 Banks from Forex Market
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday wielded the big stick as it barred nine Deposit Money Banks from the nation’s foreign exchange market for failing to remit the sum of $2.334bn belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Treasury Single Account.
President Muhammad Buhari had last September ordered all the DMBs in the country to remit all Federal Government funds to the TSA.
The banks are: First Bank of Nigeria Limited ($469m); Diamond Bank Plc ($287m); Sterling Bank Plc ($269m); Skye Bank Plc ($221m); Fidelity Bank ($209m); United Bank for Africa ($530m); Keystone Bank ($139); First City Monument Bank (FCMB) $125m; and Heritage Bank ($85m). Punch
272 Firms Shut Down In One Year – MAN
Manufacturers and other private sector operators on Tuesday painted a gloomy picture of how the foreign exchange restriction placed on 41 items by the Central Bank of Nigeria had affected operations in the business sector.
They said that since the restriction order was placed last year, about 272 firms had been forced out of business, 50 of which were manufacturing companies.
While some of the affected manufacturers have relocated to neighbouring countries, according to Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, at least 222 small-scale businesses have closed shops, leading to 180,000 job losses. Punch
Economic Woes: Hundreds of Factories Close Down
The current economic hardship has led to the closure or total collapse of hundreds of factories across the country, the association of manufacturers said yesterday.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (NASME), Eke Ubiji, explained how in 11 states 222 companies have collapsed or are ailing, a situation that could have been averted if there was patronage of local goods, low rate of foreign exchange and supportive governmental policies.
Speaking at the launch of the ‘Manufacturing Sector Survey in Nigeria: Industry Snapshot’ conducted by NOI POLLS and Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, the manufacturers decried the harsh operating environment in recent times. DailyTrust
‘Banks Have 31.2m Dormant Accounts’
Statistics by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) shows that the country has a total of 31.2 million bank accounts that are not active in the banking system.
According to the data hosted on the website of the NIBSS, there are a total of ninety one million, six hundred and sixty seven thousand, four hundred and forty-six (91,667,446) accounts in the country as at July 31, 2016
However, there are only sixty four million, ten thousand and thirteen (64,010,013) active accounts within the banking system as at July 31, 2016.
The statistics further revealed that the total number of accounts within the banking sector grew by 6.6 million from a little above 85 million to 91.6 million accounts between December 31, 2015 and July 31, 2016. DailyTrust
NDIC Advocates Alternative Funding for FSS2020
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Umaru Ibrahim, has advocated for alternative funding for the activities of the Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS2020) away from dependence on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Receiving the management team of FSS2020 in Abuja yesterday, Ibrahim urged all implementing agencies of the FSS2020 to assist the CBN in funding the secretariat of the project.
The NDIC boss committed to help fund the project, advising the management team to draw up a budget and make it available for all the five participating institutions involved in the implementation for inclusion in their respective budgets. DailyTrust