The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Tinubu appoints Service Chiefs, CDS, NSA, IG, CGC

    Tinubu appoints Service Chiefs, CDS, NSA, IG, CGC

    • More special advisers, SSAs named

     President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday made key security appointments in a major shake-up which swept away the Chief of Defence Staff, Service chiefs, National Security Adviser (NSA), Inspector-General of Police and Comptroller-General of Customs.

    The statement by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume, signed by the Director of Information in his office Mr. Willie Bassey, gave the names of new appointees.

    They are Maj. Gen. Christopher Gewbi Musa, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS); Maj.-Gen. Taoreed A Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff (COAS); Rear Admiral Emmanuel A. Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Hassan Bala Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff (CAS).

    The Service chiefs will hold office in acting capacities.

    Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police Kayode Egbetokun is the acting Inspector-General of Police and Deputy Comptroller-General (DCG) Adeniyi Bashir Adewale is to act as Customs Comptroller-General.

    Others are: Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser (NSA); Maj.-Gen. Epa Undiandeye, Chief of Defense Intelligence (CDI); Col. Adebisi Onasanya, Brigade of Guards Commander; Lt. Col. Moshood Abiodun Yusuf, 7 Guards Battalion, Asokoro, Abuja; Lt. Col. Auwalu Baba Inuwa, 177, Guards Battalion, Keffi, Nasarawa State; Lt. Col. Mohammed J. Abdulkarim, 102 Guards Battalion, Suleja, Niger and Lt. Col. Olumide A. Akingbesote, 176 Guards Battalion, Gwagwalada, Abuja.

    The statement further stated that the President approved the appointments of other military officers in the Presidential Villa, including Maj. Isa Farouk Audu (N/14695), Commanding Officer of State House Artillery; Capt. Kazeem Olalekan Sunmonu (N/16183), Second-in-Command, State House Artillery; Maj. Kamaru Koyejo Hamzat (N/14656), Commanding Officer, State House Military Intelligence; Maj. TS Adeola (N/12860), Commanding Officer, State House Armament; and Lt. A. Aminu (N/18578), Second-in-Command, State House Armament.

    The President also approved the appointments of two additional Special Advisers and two Senior Assistants.

    They are Hadiza Bala Usman (Special Adviser, Policy Coordination); Hannatu Musa Musawa (Special Adviser, Culture and Entertainment Economy); Sen. Abdullahi Abubakar Gumel (Senior Special Assistant, National Assembly Matters – Senate) and Olarewaju Kunle Ibrahim (Senior Special Assistant, National Assembly Matters – House of Representatives).

    The statement said the Service chiefs, the acting IG and the acting CG of Customs are to act in their positions, pending their confirmation in accordance with the 1999 Constitution.

    Former CDS Gen. Luck Irabor was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021 along with the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Naval Staff.

    Read Also: Tinubu off to Paris for global pact signing

    But Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru died in a helicopter crash in May 2021 and was replaced by Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya.

    Outgone IGP Alkali Usaman Baba was appointed in April 2021. 

    Former NSA Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd) was appointed in 2015.

    PROFILES

    Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

    The new Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Musa was born on December 25, 1967. He hails from Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    He is a member of the 38th Infantry Course of the Nigerian Defence Army and was Commissioned on 21 September 1991.

    He had served at the Theatre Command Operation Hadin Kai, the Joint Military Operation in the Northeast.

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS)

    The COAS Maj.-Gen. Lagbaja was born in Ilobu, Irepodun Local Government Area, Osun State, on 28 February 1968.

    He was admitted on 12 September 1987 as a member of 39 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy. He was commissioned on 19 September 1992 into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps.

    Until his appointment, Maj. -Gen. Lagbaja was Chief of Operations at the Army Headquarters, Abuja.

    Chief of Naval Staff

    Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla hails from Enugu-Ezike in Enugu State. He was a member of 39 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).

    Until his appointment, he was Director of Lessons Learnt at Naval Headquarters, Abuja.

    Chief of Air Staff

    The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar, was born on 11 September 1970. He hails from Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State. 

    He was enlisted into the NAF as a member of 39 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), and was commissioned Pilot Officer on 19 Sept 1992.

    He was the Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command before his appointment.

    Acting IGP

    Born on September 4, 1964, Egbetokun was the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja before his appointment as Acting Inspector General of Police.

    Egbetokun was born in Erinja, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State. He enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on the 3rd of March, 1990, as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police.

    He had his initial training at the Nigeria Police Academy and has served for more than 26 years in the Police.

    Egbetokun obtained a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc) in Mathematics from the University of Lagos.

    He had also lectured in Mathematics briefly at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

    His other academic qualifications include PhD from the Center for Peace and Security Studies, Al-hikmah University, Ilorin, making history as the first PhD candidate to graduate from the Center. He holds M.Sc in Engineering Analysis, also from the University of Lagos, Akoka ( 1996), PGD in Petroleum Economics from Delta State University, Abraka (2000), and an MBA from Lagos State University, Ojo (2004).

    Egbetokun was the Acting Commissioner of Police in Lagos State.

    He was also the Deputy Commandant, Nigeria Police College, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Read Also: Presidency: Service Chiefs’ appointments not subject to ethnic balancing, federal character

    Senator Abdullahi Gumel

    Senator Abubakar Gumel hails from Maigatari Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

    He was born on April 20, 1949. He was a member of the 8th National Assembly and represented Jigawa Northwest District. He was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on States and Local Governments.

    He attended Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, where he obtained a National Diploma in Accountancy before proceeding to Bayero University, Kano, where he obtained Advance Diploma in Public Administration and Post Graduate Diploma (PDGD) in Public Policy and Administration. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Bayero University, Kano.

    In 1999, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, representing Gumel Constituency (Gumel/Maitagri/Sule Tanrarkar/Gagarawa Local Government Areas). While in the House, he served as Chairman of the House Committee on Special Duties from 1999 to 2000 and Chairman of the House Committee on Police Affairs, from 2001 – 2003. 

    In 2003, he was appointed Special Adviser to the Speaker (Aminu Bello Masari) on special assignments (2003–2007). He was elected Senator and represented Jigawa Northwest District in 2015 under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Nuhu Ribadu

    Ribadu was born on 21 November 1960 in Yola, Adamawa State. He graduated from Ahmadu Bello University,  Zaria, Kaduna State in 1983, with a Bachelor of Law degree. He also bagged a Master’s in Law from ABU.

    He joined the Nigerian Police Force in 1986 and rose to become Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2002. In 2007, he was promoted Assistant Inspector General of Police.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission  (EFCC) from 2003 to 2007.

    Ribadu was also the Chairman of the Petroleum Special Revenue Task Force from 2012 to 2014.

    Hadiza Bala Usman

    Born on January 2, 1976, Usman bagged a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria, in 2000.

    In 2009, she received a Master’s in Development Studies from the University of Leeds, England.

    She was appointed in 2015 by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as  Chief of Staff.

    Former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed her as the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in July 2016, a position she held till 2021.

    Adeniyi

    Before his appointment, Adeniyi  was an Acting Deputy Comptroller General of Customs with over 30 years experience.

    Adeniyi attended Modakeke High School, Osun State, where he sat for his School Certificate Examination  in June, 1979. Adeniyi graduated in 1987, from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, with Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations . The new Acting Controller-General of Customs is also a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication Science from Universitaire Svizzera D’Italiana (USI) – Lugano—Switzerland.

  • HOSTCON seeks payment of N800b from 3% of budget

    HOSTCON seeks payment of N800b from 3% of budget

    MEMBERS of the Host Communities of Nigeria (HOSTCON) are seeking the intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the payment of N800 billion three per cent of the operating share accruing from the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

    The PIA Act stipulates that three per cent of companies’ budget should be set aside and remitted to the communities where the companies operate.

    HOSTCON’s Executive National Chairman, Dr. Mike Emuh, who made the request at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, recalled that the PIA came into force nearly two years ago.

    He said the N800 billion covers the remittances that were not made for last year and this year.

    According to Emuh, the issue of three per cent in the PIA, the law made it very clear that three per cent of the cost of production – the capital cost of oil company, the budget of any oil company in a year operating in Nigeria, three per cent of their budget cost be given to the host communities.

     He said: “And the law made it very clear as three per cent HOST Fund Commission. A commission is to be created. By next month it will be two years that PIA that was former PIB we agitated for it at the National Assembly and it metamorphosed from PIB to PIA.

     “Next month will be two years we haven’t seen the implementation. Last year alone was over N400billion.

    “By next month we will be having another over N400 billion. So, over N800 billion of three per cent commission to be paid to the host communities by settlor. Settlor is the oil companies operating in Nigeria to the trust fund commission of the host communities.”

    He said the HOSTCON is already convening the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to a meeting of the inauguration of the Host Community Commission.

    Read Also: Subsidy: marketers lament non-payment of claims

    According to him, nomination of candidates for the commission was underway.

    According to him, the three per cent is the only option open to the HOSTCON because the oil companies have devised divisive measures for punishing the communities.

    He noted that politicians have hijacked the 13 per cent derivation

    On the 13 per cent derivation, Emuh identified the governors in the oil-bearing as the beneficiaries of the fund and the host communities.

    “Again, we are also concerned about the payment of the 13 per cent derivation fund to state governments instead of making the payment to the host communities as enunciated by the Presidential Implementation Committee on the PIA.” he said.

    The HOSTCON chair urged the Federal Government to domesticate pipeline surveillance and related infrastructure in care of the host communities as articulated by the United Nations (UN) and the PIA.

    He expressed commitment and support for the promotion of peace and well-being of the oil and gas bearing communities in Nigeria.

    Expressing concern over oil theft and pipeline vandalism, he vowed to expose those behind the economic sabotage if given necessary security backup by the government.

    He sought the creation of an enabling environment for the International Oil Companies (IOCs), Local Organising Committees (LOCs) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to operate and enhance their operations.

    He advocate the activation and promotion of modular refineries and gas plants.

  • INEC’s, Obi’s lawyers clash at tribunal

    INEC’s, Obi’s lawyers clash at tribunal

    lawyers yesterday clashed at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) over the alleged withholding of vital documents by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Legal team members of the Labour Party (LP) and Peter Obi disagreed with their INEC counterparts on the claim. Voices were raised.

    While lawyers to Obi and the LP claimed INEC was frustrating the prosecution of their petition by allegedly refusing to release the documents they applied and paid for, lawyers to the electoral body again accused the petitioners of attempting to shift blame for their failure.

    The exchanges began when, after the petitioners’ seventh witness adopted her written statement, a lawyer to the petitioners, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), told the court that INEC was frustrating his team in the prosecution of the case.

    Okutepa said INEC did not only fail to release the documents they paid for, but the commission and its officials also rejected the subpoenas served on them to produce materials.

    The lawyer said they have written INEC many times on the issue and have also sent letters to its lead counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), to help prevail on his client, to no avail.

    “We wish to bring to the attention of the court the excruciating experience that we are having with INEC. To show bad faith, they just released some documents to us this afternoon while we were preparing to come here.

    “We have done all that we needed to do. We have written letters, we have engaged in persuasion and have appealed to those we needed to speak with.

    “This a proceeding that is time-bound. We have paid for these documents, and yet INEC had refused to give them to us. Under the Electoral Act, INEC cannot refuse to provide documents that have been applied for and duly paid for.

    “It appears that INEC is deliberately frustrating us. We are being horsewhipped. We feel it is the court that we can cry to,” Okutepa said.

    Mahmoud denied receiving any letter from Okutepa. He expressed surprise at his colleague’s claim and wondered why the petitioners’ lawyers were blaming his client.

    He admitted that the leader of the petitioners’ legal team, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN) wrote him on the issue and that he replied.

    He said INEC was not unwilling to make documents available and was not evading subpoenas, noting that the commission has responded to subpoenas and provided volumes of documents to the petitioners and in other cases.

    Mahmoud said there are procedures in INEC that the petitioners were not willing to comply with, adding that if they cannot abide by existing procedures, “they cannot blame INEC”.

    “I don’t think this practice is fair. To talk of sabotage on the part of INEC is not fair. I am quite taken aback by what the petitioners’ lawyer is saying. We cannot sit here and listen to lamentation that is unfounded,” Mahmoud said.

    Uzoukwu denied receiving any letter from Mahmoud, adding that he believed that INEC was frustrating his team.

    “Through INEC’s conduct, this proceeding is frustrated today. If they are ready to give us documents, we are ready to come back tomorrow (today). They are holding us hostage.

    “We want an order of this court to compel INEC to produce the documents that we requested,” Uzoukwu said.

    Olanipekun promises to mediate

    Presiding Justice Haruna Tsammani intervened and told the petitioners’ lawyers that they know what to do under the law where the court’s subpoena is ignored.

    Uzoukwu and Okutepa noted that they were hamstrung in view of the time-sensitive nature of the case.

    Other members of the panel, Justices Stephen Adah and Misiturat Bolaji-Yusuf appealed to lawyers in the case to cooperate with each other to ensure seamless proceedings by assisting each other where necessary.

    They urged them to place the interest of the nation and the people before their individual considerations and the reputation of the country.

    Counsel for President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettma, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), promised to mediate between the feuding lawyers.

    “It is a storm in a teacup. We, as lawyers, will meet when the court rises and resolve this issue,” Olanipekun said.

    Shortly after the court rose, leaders of the legal teams to parties in the case met briefly within the courtroom and agreed to straighten all roughened edges.

    Cloud engineer testifies

    Earlier, the petitioners called their seventh witness, Mpeh Clareta Ogar, who claimed to be a Cloud Engineer and Architect, adding that she works with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Incorporated.

    AWS is one of the technology organisations whose services INEC utilised to save its data during the last election.

    Read Also: Obi, LP tender 18,088 blurred result sheets, other documents

    Although Ogar contested the House of Representatives seat in Yala/Ogoga Federal Constituency of Cross River State as an LP candidate in the last election and lost, she, however, attended court as a subpoenaed witness.

    Lawyer to Obi/LP, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN), who led her in evidence, did not disclose that aspect of her. He only stressed that she is an employee of the AWS and a subpoenaed witness.

    Ikwueto tendered through the witness, her written statement on oath, her resume, employment letter and six copies of what was described as reports showing the status of AWS’ servers in the 33 regions where the firm hosts its servers for its cloud services.

    In view of the information that the witness’ statement and documents were served on the respondents a few minutes before the commencement of the court’s sitting, the witness was stood down for the respondents to cross-examine her today.

    Atiku calls three witnesses

    Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presented called three witnesses, who served as INEC’s ad-hoc staff and presiding officers.

    Janet Turaki, Christopher Ardo and Victoria Sani testified as subpoenaed witnesses and said all the election processes went well in their various polling units, except the electronic transmission of the presidential election results.

    Turaki, who said she served in Gombe State, said after the voting process, votes were duly sorted, counted and the results were entered into the appropriate result sheet, which she signed along with agents of political parties who were available.

    She said she took photos of the signed result sheet with the BVAS machine and later submitted it at the Ward Collation Centre.

    Ardo and Sani said they were also taught how to transmit results offline where there was no network. They, however, said they were not successful in their efforts to upload the results of the presidential election at their polling units.

    Further hearing in the petition resumes at 9 am.

    APM to proceed despite double nomination ruling

    Meanwhile, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) insisted on Monday proceeding with its case before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu at the last election.

    The APM is querying the legality of the joint ticket of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettma, arguing among others, that Shettma had a double nomination, which it claimed rendered the joint ticket invalid.

    The PEPC on May 30 suspended proceedings in the matter to enable parties to obtain and study a judgment delivered on 26 judgment by the Supreme Court.

    The highest court had dismissed a case by the PDP, in which the party sought to void the joint ticket of Tinubu and Shettma as presidential and vice presidential candidates of the APC in the last election.

    The PDP had, in its case, claimed that Shettma violated the Electoral Act by being nominated twice for two different offices – Borno Central Senatorial District and Vice President, and prayed the court to disqualify Tinubu and Shettima.

    The Supreme Court held among others, that Shettima was not nominated twice and that a political party lacked the locus standi to challenge the process adopted by another political in nominating its candidates.

    Olanipekun, on May 30, drew the court’s attention to the Supreme Court judgment and argued that, in view of the apex court’s finding in the PDP case, there were no longer issues to be determined by the PEPC in the petition by the APM.

    Lawyer to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) agreed with Olanipekun.

    But, the petitioner’s lawyer, Shehu Abubakar denied knowledge of the judgment and sought time to be allowed to study it and decide what further steps to take.

    When parties returned to court on Monday, a new lawyer, who represented the APM, G. A. Idiagbonya, said he got a copy of the judgment from Fagbemi.

    “We have gone through the judgment and we are of the opinion that we can still proceed with the petition,” Idiagbonya said and prayed the court for an adjournment to a later date for trial.

    He said the petitioner intends to call a witness but needed time to enable it to retrieve some documents from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with which it planned to conduct its case.

    Lawyers to the respondents, including Mahmoud, Olanipekun and Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan (SAN) for the APC did not object to Idiagbonya’s request.

    Olanipekun said he has also read the judgment. He, however, insisted that the petitioner must be allowed to return the next day for trial, a request Idiagbonya objected to, insisting that he needed time to get the documents from INEC.

    Justice Tsammani adjourned till tomorrow for trial.

  • Boards of govt, agencies, departments, institutions dissolved

    Boards of govt, agencies, departments, institutions dissolved

    Boards of government departments, agencies and institutions have been dissolved.

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George AKume, who announced the dissolution last night, said boards of 14 agencies are excluded.

    A statement last night onbehalf of AKume by Director of Information in the SGF’s office Willie Bassey, directed that the affairs of the affected institutions would be managed through permanent secretaries, who, in turn, will refer all matters to the SGF.

    The statement reads: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the immediate dissolution of the governing boards of all Federal Government parastatals, agencies, institutions and government-owned companies in the exercise of its constitutional powers and in the public interest.

    “The dissolution does not, however, affect Boards, Commissions and Councils listed in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

    “In view of this development and until such a time new boards are constituted, the Chief Executive Officers of the parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned companies are directed to refer matters requiring the attention of their boards to the President, through the permanent secretaries of their respective supervisory ministries and offices.

    Read Also: Tinubu’s forex policy will attract more FDIs – Airtel Group

    “Permanent secretaries are directed, also, to route such correspondences to Mr. President through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Consequently, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies are to ensure compliance to the provision of this directive which took effect from Friday, 16th June, 2023.

    “Permanent Secretaries are particularly directed to inform the Chief Executive Officers of the affected Agencies under the supervision of their respective Ministries/Offices for immediate compliance.”

    The 14 boards that were not affected by the dissolution are: Code of Conduct Bureau; Council of State; Federal Character Commission; Federal Civil Service Commission; Federal Judicial Service Commission; Independent National Electoral Commission; National Defence Council; National Economic Council; National Judicial Council; National Population Commission; National Security Council; Nigeria Police Council; Police Service Commission and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

    The statement said: “According to the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, fourteen boards are excluded.

    “There shall be established for the Federation the following bodies, namely: (a) The composition and powers of each body established by subsection (1) of this Section are as contained in Part 1 of the Third Schedule to this Constitution.”

  • Subsidy palliatives plan ready in August

    Subsidy palliatives plan ready in August

    The Federal Government and organised labour have reached an agreement to sort out the implementation of the resolutions they reached on palliatives to cushion the effect of petroleum subsidy removal by August.

    Representatives of the government and those of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) adjourned meeting two weeks ago after jointly drawing up seven resolutions and three agreements for the welfare of workers and other Nigerians.

    At the resumed meeting yesterday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the two parties, among other things, set up a Presidential Steering Committee to serve as a clearing house in coordinating the technical sub-committees on different items raised.

    Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, TUC President Festus Osifo and his NLC counterpart, Joe Ajaero, said the parties would reconvene next Monday to review the framework they agreed upon.

    Osifo said: “We have concluded our meeting. If you remember very well, the last time that we were here, that TUC and NLC met with government about two weeks ago, we agreed that we were going to reconvene today. That is June 19. We just reconvened. We had a meeting although brief…

    “We agreed that anything we are putting together we are going to conclude everything in eight weeks. Everything must be rolled out within that time, not something that we are going to leave endlessly. They have submitted the framework to us. We have looked at it. We have made input. This night, we will continuously work on it in order for us to come up with the deliverables…”

    Also,

    “If you look at the communiqué that was signed in our last meeting, there are some action items in the communiqué. So, it’s actually how these action items will be delivered. For example, we need to have a Presidential Steering Committee that will have to oversee everything.

    “We also need to have technical sub-committees, because if we talk about the issue of CNG, we need experts… You need those people that are willing to invest… You need the national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to come up with what they need to do and the time with which they are going to deliver.

    “There are some technicalities that are required beyond this meeting. So, those technical committees will be subsumed into presidential committees. But all these we must conclude maximum in eight weeks. So, those technical committees; some will submit their reports in one week. When they submit in one week, we implement; when they submit in two weeks, we will implement. But the last should not exceed eight weeks.

    Read Also: Fed Govt, Labour resume talks on subsidy removal

    “The terms of reference of these committees are going to be agreed on between today and tomorrow. We are looking at five broad technical committees that will be subsumed into Presidential Steering Committee. There must be timelines in these terms of reference but maximum should not exceed eight weeks. By next week Monday, we will be here again, same time.”

    Also, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategies, Mr. Dele Alake, said the meeting considered the short term, medium term, and long term measures in resolving the issue with government.

    He said: “We reconvened today. Both parties went through this list and we tipped off the viable ones. Those things are broken into three categories. The immediate: those that can be of low hanging fruits in the short-term; the medium-term and the long-term.

    “So, those lists of demands in terms of implementation and execution fall into those three broad categories of short, medium and long term categories. So, that’s what we decided today and other meetings will still be held in order to cross the T’s and dot the I’s.

    “One group has been constituted at today’s meeting. There is a steering committee that will be like a clearing house. There are other groups set up, comprising both parties, government and labour members, and these groups will work together very harmoniously and efficiently to arrive at the final resolution of all these demands and what we call interventions.”

    Present at the meeting were Ajaero, Osifo, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila Special Adviser for Revenue, Zachaeus Adedeji and the Special Adviser for Energy, Olu Verheijen, and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Kachallom Daju.

    Others include the Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited NNPCL, Mele Kyari, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, the CEO of Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, among others.

  • ‘Forex policy will open floodgate of foreign investments’

    ‘Forex policy will open floodgate of foreign investments’

    Last week’s harmonisation of foreign exchange markets in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) will open floodgates for foreign investments in Nigeria, Chairman of Bharti Airtel Worldwide Sunil  Mittal, has said.

    Mittal stated that the new policy would give foreign and local investors more confidence that an enabling environment had been opened in Nigeria.

    He also said that the measure had moved  Nigeria’s economy into global reckoning.

    Mittal revealed that Airtel which yesterday rolled out its Fifth generation (5G)  service in the country,   would up its hitherto $400 million yearly investments in Nigeria to $700m in the next two years.

    Mittal stated this after a meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa,  Abuja.

    The Airtel chief said that with the new exchange rate policy, one obstruction to foreign investments in Nigeria had been tackled.

    He made reference to how the old policy had frustrated  Airtel’s bid to import critical equipment to enhance its operations in Nigeria.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  had on Wednesday floated the Naira, thus giving traders at the Import and Export (I&E) window, the freedom in the exchange rate determination.

    With the development, buyers and sellers of foreign currency in the official FX market now quote rates they find comfortable in the FX market.

    The policy was on Friday hailed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  

    Mittal, who was in company with other senior officials of the company, including the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa Limited,  Segun Ogunsanya, also said he noted during the meeting, Tinubu’s deep commitment to stemming poverty in Nigeria.

    His words: “One of the key changes that His Excellency, the President, has made in the first few days of his tenure, has been making Naira free float unto the market, letting the market decide, as opposed to CBN’s very …four or five exchange rates, which was very difficult to navigate for companies like ourselves and many others.

    “As you have all seen, the Naira has been devalued, but the worldwide markets have given standing ovations to this move and the dollar bonds have strengthened in Nigeria and generally there’s excitement in investing and companies who are going to be coming to put their bases here in Nigeria.

     Expatiating on his company’s investments in Nigeria, Mittal said:  ”We’re already investing about $400 million a year, which has been going on for many years and of course will continue.

    “On top of that, to roll out the 5G and more fibre into the ground and data centres will require more than $700 million to get to that outcome. So, while there is no exact number  I can give you, all I can tell you is $400 million is what we generally invest every year.

    “With 5G, the investment is only going to go up for the next two or three years before it comes back to the same $350, $450 million a year and we have invested just under $4 billion since the time we have come into Nigeria.”

     On the issues he discussed with the President, Mittal said they centred on economic empowerment, job creation and poverty alleviation.  

     ”I saw this President’s deep commitment to removing poverty. I come from a country, India, where we also have decades of poverty, which has been rapidly minimised and eradicated in some parts, through the intervention of massive infrastructure investment, massive digital ecosystem creation and using the digital infrastructure to provide services by the government to its citizens. This includes direct benefit transfers in the form of cash in the hands of people, biometric-based banking transactions and biometric-based health services.

    “During the COVID time, India, as you know, through the biometric, could ensure that every one of its citizens was inoculated and vaccinated. These things that the technology can offer and more are fully on display in India and available to its friendly countries in Africa, like Nigeria,”  he said.

    Tinubu, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy Dele Alake reassured investors of a better business climate.  

    The  President recalled his connection with the Telco when it started as Econet Wireless in Nigeria. He said that as the then Governor of Lagos State,  he facilitated and supported the entry of the company into Nigeria to liberalise the telecommunication industry. 

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    The statement read in part: “I have a connection with Airtel. We brought Econet to Nigeria when I was governor of Lagos State. I was a main promoter then because we needed to liberalise the telecom industry. The economy of Asia headed by India is very phenomenal because of reforms. We are ready to copy India. 

     ”Digital economy is very crucial. We are not ashamed to copy any model that works. I congratulate Airtel for the growth of your business in Nigeria. We are looking forward to the growth and expansion of your 5G network in Nigeria. Airtel should continue to promote Nigeria. 

    “I assure you that your investment is very safe and will continue to grow. We are working to improve the business environment for all investors,”. 

     The Special Adviser to the President on Monetary Policy, Mr Wale Edun, in his remarks, said that  Tinubu had always recognised the transformational power of technology and telecommunication for economic growth.  

     * Airtel Nigeria rolls out 5G services

    The number of operators Telcos offering 5G) services in the country rose to four yesterday with   Airtel Nigeria officially joining the elite league.

    MTN Nigeria pioneered the launch of the service. It was followed by Mafab Communications.

    5G technology delivers superfast data services and redefines services in other sectors of the economy, including Medicine and  Agriculture.

      Chief Commercial Officer at Airtel Nigeria, Femi Oshinlaja, said 5G services would first be available in the  Federal Capital Territory (FCT),   Lagos, Ogun and Rivers states.     

    Oshinlaja restated the company’s commitment to deepen investment in Nigeria.   

    Airtel had in January announced the payment of $ 316.7 million for 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3500MHz band for the deployment of  5G network and 2x5MHz of 2600MHz to boost its fourth-generation coverage in the country.  

     CEO of  Airtel Africa Limited, Ogunsanya,  had also told reporters in Abuja that  ”the acquisition of 5G spectrum by Airtel  will underpin our growth strategy by enabling the launch of higher speed connectivity to enhance customer service and accelerate digitalisation for consumers, enterprises and the public sector.”  

     He added: “The deployment of 5G will accelerate the availability and efficiency of fixed wireless access products across the country, contributing toward Airtel Nigeria’s progress in meeting the National Broadband Plan targets.”

  • Naira slumps to N770/$

    Naira slumps to N770/$

    For the first time in decades, the naira exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window – the official market rate – weakened below the parallel market rate.

    The naira depreciated by N107 to close at N770/$1 at the I&E window yesterday, weaker than the N757/$ it exchanged at the parallel market rate.

    The local currency, which closed on Friday at N663/$1 at the I&E window, struggled to sustain the appreciation tempo after dollar supply to the market shrank and manufacturers struggled to source it for items not valid for forex access.

    Analysts also said Friday’s low closing rate at the I&E window attracted forex buyers interested in getting the greenback at cheaper rates to that segment.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unified exchange rates into the I&E window last Wednesday, allowing market forces to determine the exchange rate.

    Managing Director of Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teribe, said the Bureau De Change (BDC)/ parallel market rate is a reliable indicator of market realities and is stable.

    “The volatile price correction in the I&E rate should trigger an equally strong reduction in demand plus an increase in supply in that window.

    “That would make the market settle back towards equilibrium in the next few days. I expect the rates to strengthen across all windows before the end of this week. 

    “I expect the unified rate to move towards N600/$ or stronger in the next week or so,” Teriba said.

    Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, noted that in continuation of the fundamental reforms in the forex market, the CBN announced the relaxation of the domiciliary account restrictions, easing limits on cash deposits and withdrawals.

    He said the market’s reaction to this was the instant appreciation of the naira at the parallel market by 0.53 per cent to N757/$.

    “This is good news for traders who source dollars mainly at the parallel market. With this development, it is likely that imported inflation, which is a function of the exchange rate, begins to taper,” he said.

    Rewane said the adoption of a single exchange rate and the “willing buyer-willing seller model” by the CBN is, no doubt, cheery news.

    He said the new exchange rate framework is expected to increase transparency in the forex market, reduce exchange rate misalignment and transaction costs, and buoy investor confidence.

    “However, exchange rate management goes beyond exchange rate unification. It must address issues surrounding market structure, easy access and adequate supply.

    “This means effectively dismantling forex rationing, administrative controls, and reviewing import restrictions. As Barack Obama declared, ‘Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions’,” Rewane said.

    Former Executive Director at Keystone Bank Limited, Richard Obire, said Friday’s rate closing at the I&E window may have gingered more buyers seeking cheaper rates to that segment of the market.

    “I suspect the average price on Friday has encouraged more buyers to come into the market. This may not have been matched by increased supply so the price will respond accordingly. 

    “This confirms the point that we need to see a reasonable period of trading to see where the market will settle,” he said.

    President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Dr. Aminu Gwadabe, said all eligible forex demands are now queuing at the I&E window in the short run hence the high transaction traffic there.

    “The development is not new as there were times when the official exchange rate was higher than the parallel market rates in China. 

    “The interplay of supply and demand forces and the concept of a willing buyer and a willing seller will eventually lead to stable market clearance rates as events unfold,” he said.

    Gwadabe advised the CBN to ensure liquidity in the retail end of the market by de-monopolising diaspora remittances and stronger collaboration with BDCs, which control the retail end of the forex market.

    Other market analysts from FutureView Securities said forex unification hopes are also being frustrated by the sustenance of the list of 43 items restricted from accessing forex at the official market.  

    Read Also: IMF hails Tinubu as Naira records first closing gain

    Originally compiled by the CBN in June 2015, the list of items ineligible for forex was intended to manage foreign exchange resources and encourage domestic production.

    However, analysts note that over 70 per cent of manufacturers already resort to accessing forex through unofficial channels, primarily due to scarcity but also because these items are on the CBN’s list of 43 ineligible items for the official forex window.

    Recent foreign trade data for the first quarter of 2023 corroborates this, with imports of five of these items amounting to N543 billion.

    Vegetable fats and oils accounted for N42.36 billion, vegetable products for N344 billion, animal products for N122.47 billion, mackerel meat for N17.05 billion, and crude palm oil for a total of N17.02 billion.

    They argue that if the country had a sufficient supply of these products, importing them would not be a profitable endeavour. The exclusion of these 43 items from accessing forex further perpetuates market fragmentation, diminishing the chances of achieving the desired convergence in exchange rates across the two markets.

    While applauding the decision to float the naira and put an end to long-standing rent-seeking opportunities, analysts stress that the removal of all controls on forex demand and the implementation of structural reforms are necessary to stimulate foreign direct investment.

  • Lawal: I inherited three-month salary debts

    Lawal: I inherited three-month salary debts

    Zamfara State Lawal says he has been running the affairs of the state withot cash since he assumed office.

    Speaking yesterday during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa, Lawal said the state government had not paid civil servants’ salaries for about four months.

    The governor said the state has also not been able to pay security agencies their allowances, adding that senior secondary school students in Zamfara have not written the West African SCHOOL Certificate Examinations (WASC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) because of cash constraint.

    “I have been running the affairs of the state on debt since I assumed office as governor of Zamfara. I met the treasury account of the state with no money. I only saw a single account with about N4 million in it,” he said.

    Read Also: NECO reschedules entrance exam into Federal Government Academy, Suleja

    “It is about three months now and we are yet to pay the salary of the workers. If you look at all the government agencies, the power supply to the buildings has been disconnected due to the hundreds of millions of debts incurred.

    “The security agencies, for three months

    , the allowance given to them for their daily operations has not been paid. Currently, students of senior secondary schools have not written their WAEC and NECO exams because the government is owing over one billion naira.”

  • Pipelines surveillance diversion: Ex-agitators seek Omo-Agege’s arrest

    Pipelines surveillance diversion: Ex-agitators seek Omo-Agege’s arrest

    •’I have no contract with NNPCL’

    A coalition of Urhobo and Isoko Ex-agitators in Delta State have called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the alleged ‘diversion/ suppression of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) pipelines surveillance slots’ belonging to them.

    They accused former Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, of being behind the diversion.

    Chairman of the coalition, Godspower Okoro, who addressed reporters yesterday at Ovwian, Udu Local Government Area, also called for Omo-Agege’s arrest and prosecution.

    Reading from a statement tagged ‘Save Our Soul’, Okoro said the call was sequel to an ultimatum issued in March, over the same subject.

    “It must be noted that this ungodly action by the former Deputy Senate President has brought much hardship and restiveness to Urhobo and Isokoland, a situation which has forced us to send this Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he added.

    According to the group, Omo-Agege influenced the awarding of the pipeline surveillance contract to ‘his proxy Jimmy Omo-Agege, who refused to engage the youths of Urhobo and Isoko, thus giving oil thieves and bunkers unfettered access to the Agura oil field and several of our communities to the detriment of our national economy’.

    Insisting that Omo-Agege must be made to face the law, the ex-agitators said while other pipelines surveillance companies pay their supervisors N300,000 and field workers N200,000 monthly, ‘a paltry N60,000 is paid to those engaged from the Urhobo/Isoko axis’.

    Urging President Tinubu to intervene in his determination to make a positive impact in Nigeria’s economy, the ex-agitators noted that the surveillance jobs have led to relative peace in the riverine Ijaw and Itsekiri areas, while the Urhobo and Isoko axis have become ‘a frenzy of bunkering and oil theft because there are no organised youth groups to confront the oil thieves’.

    Read Also: Marketers to NNPCL: release petrol we paid for

    But Omo-Agege denied involvement in crude oil pipeline surveillance contract with the NNPCL.

    The former senator, through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Sir Sunny Areh, said ‘he is not a contractor and obviously has no contract with NNPCL on pipelines surveillance. This is an easily verifiable fact’.

    One of the ex-militants, Ogaga Ivwromon, called for the termination of the NNPCL Pipeline Surveillance Contract for Urhobo and Isoko nation with the current contractor, who they said has ‘cornered everything to himself and family and left others to their fate’.

    He also appealed to President Tinubu to establish an Artisanal Modular Refinery Commission and Petroleum Technical College, at Uzere and Oleh communities in Isoko South, as part of his 100 days in office projects to create jobs for the youths.

    Other ex-agitators, Jonah Marshall and Timibra Gabriel, lamented untold hardship in their communities, asserting that despite being from oil bearing communities, they benefit little or nothing from the petroleum sector.

  • Drug offences: NDLEA secures 5,147 convictions

    Drug offences: NDLEA secures 5,147 convictions

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday said it had successfully secured the conviction of 5,147 drug offenders in the past two and half years.

    It said it had also recovered 6.3 million kilograms of various illicit substances in the period.

    NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig Gen Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd) disclosed this at a joint press briefing with the Country Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Oliver Stolpe.

    Both men also announced the flag-off of activities to mark the 2023 UN Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking of Illicit Drugs, which is celebrated every June 26.

    Marwa, represented by the Secretary of the Agency, Shadrach Haruna, said over 11,000 other cases are pending in court, while 23,725 drug users had been counselled and rehabilitated, mostly through brief interventions.

    He said 31,675, including 35 barons, were arrested for drugs.

    He added: “We have destroyed 852.142 hectares of cannabis farms and dismantled three clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. I can assure you that even as we speak, NDLEA agents are busy with interdiction activities somewhere.”

    The NDLEA boss said this year’s theme, “People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention”, is in furtherance of the whole-of-society approach to taming the drug scourge.

    “In the past two and half years, we have strengthened our law enforcement efforts to cut down on the supply of drugs in society,” he said, pointing out that drug supply reduction is only one of the components of the equation.

    Read Also”: NDLEA arrests two Qatar-based drug lords, intercepts meth consignment

    He added: “Another crucial component is drug demand reduction, which operationally means prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. It should go without saying that we must strike a balance between these two crucial components if we are to achieve our desired utopia of a drug-free society.

    “NDLEA has made significant investments in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation over the last two years. The doors of our rehabilitation facilities are open at all times. In the last 29 months, we have acquired a few more rehab centres, given to us as donations, while we have also obtained the Federal Government’s approval for the construction of regional model rehabs.

    “More private treatment facilities are also cooperating with NDLEA. To cap it all, NDLEA went above and beyond to invest in a toll-free, round-the-clock call centre that provides teletherapy.”

    He charged society to drop the stigmatization that discourages drug users from seeking treatment, a development that has serious socio-economic repercussions for individuals and their families.