The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cash

  • EFCC seizes $1m cash from Badeh’s house

    EFCC seizes $1m cash from Badeh’s house

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has found $1million cash in a mansion belonging to a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.).

    The cash is believed by investigators to be part of the diverted arms procurement funds.

    Badeh’s on 10 charges of diverting N3.97billion belonging to the Nigerian Air Force(NAF) will begin today.

    The anti-graft commission said the $1million, found tucked in Badeh’s room.

    A top source in EFCC said: “Apart from NAF funds, investigation confirmed that Badeh diverted funds meant for procurement of arms to Bureau De Change. We have interacted with some Bureau De Change operators.

    “When we searched his mansion at 6, Ogun River Street in Maitama District in Abuja, $1million raw cash was found in one of the rooms.

    “Our operatives made sure that the search of the house was conducted in the presence of Badeh’s neighbours who can attest to the discovery. We ensured that these neighbours witnessed our operation.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “Badeh has a case to answer on diversion of funds voted for arms procurement. I cannot tell you whether or not he will face separate charges on the $1million.”

    Badeh has said he has nothing to do with “Dasukigate”, a scandal which centres on the embezzlement of at least $2.1billion (Air Force) budgeted for arms.

    In a statement he personally signed, the ex-CDS said: “It has been widely reported in the news that I am being investigated over the $2.1 billion arms deals but that is not true.  I was not part of Dasukigate.

    “The claim that five  properties were acquired for me from the $2.1billion funds is also false. I was Chief of Air staff from Oct. 2012 to January 2014 and then appointed CDS.

    “During my time serving as the CDS, funds for weapons were directly released to the Chief of Air staff, army staff and naval staff and not to me. I had no control over the funds and yet I am being accused of embezzling weapons funds.

    “The office of the CDS had no operational control of the services and had nothing to do with their spending.”

    The EFCC’s latest disclosures lent credence to the earlier statement of the Presidency that a special panel had linked Badeh and others to the $2.1billion arms deals.

    The Presidency handed over Badeh and 17 others, including 11 senior military officers and 22 companies, to EFCC for investigation on the alleged $2.1billion arms deals.

  • Nigeria gets USAID’s N20b rural agric cash

    Nigeria gets USAID’s N20b rural agric cash

    An agency funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) called Maximising Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites (MARKETS) said it has facilitated N20 billion as rural agricultural loans in Nigeria.

    The agency added that it had mobilised Nigerian farmers to achieve N78 billion value of sales for MARKETS II commodities.

    Its Director, External Relations and Capacity Building, Godson Ononiwu who spoke yesterday in Kpada, Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State at the presentation of tractor to Anfani Kin Kpada Tifin Cooperative Farming Society Limited, said: “We are providing the tractor not only to support the cooperative society and its members in furthering their own production opportunities but also to allow them develop a commercial tractor business to service the other farmers in their communities.”

    The event was attended by local government chairman,  Alhaji Uthman Ndako-Kpada, officials of agro-allied institutions and outfits, other dignitaries and members of the cooperative society which is chaired by Alhaji Abdul-Gana Lukpada.

    Ononiwu said in Benue and Kwara states, MARKETS II had been providing agricultural and capacity building assistance to 70,139 aquaculture, rice and soybean farmers since April 2012.

  • N500b cash for traders, farmers, artisans coming

    Over two million traders, farmers and artisans will receive N500 billion micro-credit to be managed by the Bank of Industry (BoI). It is tagged: N500 billion Social Protection Programme for 2016.

    Speaking yesterday, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah said the ministry  will be rolling out programmes and initiatives focused on supporting micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) with finance, infrastructure, technical support and training.

    He said the manufacturing sector currently contributes only about 10 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), lamenting that it is lower than it is the lowest other emerging markets.

    He said the government is set to implement the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), launched by the previous government.

    “Our industrialisation ambition is hinged on the  NIRP launched by the previous government in 2014. It is now time to move that comprehensive document from plan to action. It is now our duty to implement that plan in light of current realities, taking into consideration the lessons learnt in the two years since it was unveiled.

    “We are focusing on identifying and supporting a select number of industrial sectors in which Nigeria has comparative advantage. We have seen success in our backward integration policies in the cement industry; and sugar is currently trying to replicate that success. In the Automotive and Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) industries, we are continuing discussions with players and stakeholders to see how we can better implement an industrial policy that creates jobs, profits and prosperity,” he said.

  • Cash boost for emerging playwrights

    Cash boost for emerging playwrights

    Paul Ugbede, a graduate of University of Jos, has emerged the winner of the just concluded maiden edition of Beeta Playwright Competition. The Mass Communication certificate holder won the star prize of N 1,000,000 with his play entitled Our Son the Minister.

    Ugbede said the winning play was inspired by the mind-set of Nigerians towards their leaders. According to him, the play, “Our Son the Minister is clarion call to every Nigerian to allow our leaders work.” He added that he got to know about the competition through a friend via WhatsApp. After submitting his entry he forgot about the competition until he got a message from the organisers that he had been nominated. According to him, it took him more than six months to write the play.

    He is of the view that the competition is a big platform for aspiring writers, adding that aspiring younger writers should never give up. “There is hope as long as you spend time to write and depending on what you want to write about. One day we can live off writing in this country.” He urged writers in general never to drop their pen “because it is the only weapon they have.”

    The first runner up Nikkita Orok got N500,000 with her play Affiong, while Olayiwola Awakan, the second runner got N250,000 with his Echoes of the Drum, at the grand finale which took place at Terra Kulture in Lagos on Monday, February 8. A total number of 176 entries from Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora and 46 were qualified to participate in the competition. The completion was open to people between the ages of 18 to 45.

    The competition organised by Beeta Universal Arts Foundation, was initiated by Bikiya Graham-Douglas, the founder of the foundation. After rigorous screening, nine finalists were picked by the panel of judges. “It is my belief that the strength of any society is its ability of documenting its stories by its different generations. This is why at Beeta, we felt a responsibility to create a platform not only for thespians but also the playwrights without whom there would be no dramatic expression. I don’t know if there is any other platform that is showcasing a new Nigerian writing, for Nigerians and by Nigerians in our own voice,” she said.

    According to her, a little token of the prize money would be used to publish the play of the winners. In her words: “We want them to have their materials in their hands. We are going to produce the winner’s play that is the part of the package. We will also take them on a school tour. The end for us would be to see the plays get into the curriculum in Nigeria.

    “It is not just about writing the play but it will be performed. These plays are transferable; we are going to see how we will get a producer to transfer the plays into movie, to ensure that they have their play published. I believe this playwright competition is going to be bigger.”

    Revealing the criteria for their selections, she said: “What we wanted was to create organic Nigerian stories from the youths, they had to write a Nigerian story. We gave them specific technical instructions to harmonise their characters. We also judge them based on their grammar.”

    To her, there should be a new generation of writers which young ones should be reading now. “From the number of entries we had, it shows that young people are looking for an avenue to show their talents and there are no platforms for them to do that. A lot of young Nigerians are not writing as much as they want and we are hopeful that competition will awaken this.  I always tell people that do not think legends are not born but made. It is from a competition like this we can get a playwright legend.”

    To confer credibility in the process of selecting winners, Graham-Douglas said she stayed away during the period. “I was not part of judges because I had to be fair because I will be biased if I am among the judges. I stayed cleared because I did not want any favourite.”

    The panel of judges were: Prof Ahmed Yerima, an award winning playwright, Shaibu Hasseni, art journalist, Ibiso Graham-Douglas, founder, Publisher-Paperworth Books limited, Kenneth Uphopho; Festival Director-British Council, and Kemi Lola Akindoju, Actress and producer.

  • Alibaba presents car, cash prizes to Spontaneity winners

    Alibaba presents car, cash prizes to Spontaneity winners

    Aderombi Adedayo, winner of Spontaneity, a talent show organised by ace Nigerian comedian Alibaba to encourage Nigerian comedians, has been presented with his prize, a brand new Kia Rio salon car.

    The presentation of the car to Adedayo who goes by the stage name Dee-One, took place on Tuesday afternoon at Alibaba’s office in Lekki, Lagos. Also, first runner-up, Emeakpore Ofajenue (Short Family), a Microbiology graduate of Delta State University, Abraka and second runner-up, Olayiwole Tolulope (Remote), a Mass Communication student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ojere, Ogun State both went home with N250, 000 and N200, 000 cash prizes respectively.

    The architecture graduate from the Covenant University, Ota had emerged winner at the finals of the competition which tested the ability of mostly up and coming comedians to create jokes on the spur of the moment. It held during Alibaba’s signature January 1 show at the Eko Hotel and Suites.

    “The show, Spontaneity came as a need to take the comedy industry to the next level,” said Alibaba who started doing professional stand-up comedy in Lagos since 1989.

    “The standards are being watered down. Comedians are repeating jokes, comedians are stealing jokes, comedians are going back to archives, picking people’s jokes and re-telling them, comedians are taking jokes from foreign comedians and re-telling them like Nigerian jokes.

    “To be sincere, stand-up comedy is a very difficult art form because when you tell the joke, if it is not very nice, you get immediate reaction. If you tell and they (audience) don’t laugh, that’s it. And we thought that the best way is to go by what we call the Holy Grail of stand-up comedy which is spontaneity. Spontaneity is the ability of the comedian to hold the microphone and be funny without thinking of any other thing. And I thought we needed to inculcate it in the art of the comedians.”

    Spontaneity is a quarterly event which sees 12 comedians slug it out with each other for the first three positions. The top three comedians from the four editions have a chance to compete at the grand finale which holds during Alibaba’s January 1 show.

     

  • EFCC to Falae, Odili, Ladoja: refund cash or face trial

    EFCC to Falae, Odili, Ladoja: refund cash or face trial

    Commission retrieves Dasuki’s memos to Jonathan

    Ex-MILAD refunds 60 per cent

    All politicians who shared in the allegedly diverted $2.1billion arms cash must return what they got or face trial, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said.

    A former Military Administrator of Kaduna State, Gen. Lawal Jafaru Isa, has refunded 60 per cent of the money he allegedly collected from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), The Nation learnt yesterday.

    Also yesterday, it was gathered that  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh had admitted the transfer of N400million into a company in which he has substantial interest.

    According to sources, EFCC decided on refund of cash after retrieving some of the memoranda which the embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.), wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan to request for funds.

    A top EFCC source said none of the memos seen so far indicated that the funds would be used for political purposes, party funding and the 2015 general election.

    Based on the vetting of the memos and disbursement of money to PDP chieftains and other highly-placed Nigerians, the EFCC has drawn the battle line of either “you make a refund or face trial”.

    Some of the beneficiaries of the cash include former governors Peter Odili (N100m);  Rashidi Ladoja(N100m), Attahiru Bafarawa(N100m), Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi (N100m), and Jim Nwobodo(N500m).

    Others are: Chief Tony Anenih(N260m); ex-PDP National Chairman Ahmadu Ali(N100m); Chief Bode George (N100m/ $30,000), Yerima Abdullahi (N100m); Chief Olu Falae (N100m); Tanko Yakassai (N63m); Gen. Bello Sarkin Yaki(N200m); Raymond Dokpesi, Iyorchia Ayu’s company(N345m); BAM Properties(N300m); Dalhatu Investment Limited(N1.5b); ex-PDP National Chairman Mohammed Bello Haliru, Abba Mohammed, Sagir Attahiru, serving and former members of the House of Representatives(over N600 million); former Chairman of the House of Representatives on Security and Intelligence, Bello Matawalle(N300m); ACACIA Holdings(N600m); Bashir Yuguda (N1,950,000) and many companies.

    Based on the vetting, the EFCC is insisting that all those implicated so far must refund the “illegal disbursement” of cash to them or face trial.

    A top EFCC source said: “We have conducted a thorough investigation and we have retrieved some of the memos sent to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan by the former National Security Adviser; none of them indicated that the cash should be for political purposes.

    “There was never a memo for cash advance for political matters like campaign or election.

    “We have also traced some of these funds directly to the accounts of these bigwigs or their proxy companies.

    “Having gone far, we are asking them to return these funds or else, we will go after them any moment from now. I think they should respect themselves and make urgent refund.

    “In the alternative, we will arrest them and arraign them in court to defend such strange allocations.

    “We will retrieve every kobo given out from ONSA. It is insufficient to say somebody gave me this money. Once we trace undeserved public funds into your account or phony and proxy  companies, we will ask for refund.”

    Regarding the interrogation of Gen. Isa, the source added: “He admitted collecting money from ONSA and he has refunded 60 per cent of the sum credited to him. I think it should be about N100 million.

    “Isa is the only person who has so far refunded money among the political figures who collected funds from ONSA. We have granted him bail to allow him time to source for the balance.”

    On the detention of the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, the source said: “So far, Metuh has admitted the transfer of N400 million by ONSA  into a company in which he has substantial interest.

    “It is left to him to justify why he deserved such benefit from arms cash. We are still questioning him on other remittances into the company’s account. We are also demanding how he will refund the cash.

    “Contrary to the noise outside, we did our homework very well. Anybody we bring to the EFCC this time around, we used to make sure that we have established a case against him.

    “So, we don’t invite or arrest on frivolous basis. We do thorough investigation this time around.”

  • MPC regrets cut in Cash Reserve Requirement

    MPC regrets cut in Cash Reserve Requirement

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said it  the decision reduce banks’ cash reserve requirement (CRR)  from 31 per cent to 25 per cent.

    A report from FBN Quest, a research and investement arm of FBN Holdings, explained that the message from the latest personal statements of MPC members on the policy shift, has only benefited borrowers in sectors with low employment elasticity.

    It therefore instructed the CBN management to devise regulations and measures to ensure that subsequent cut in the CRR of five percentage points (to 20 per cent) reached employment generating sectors, such as agriculture, infrastructure, solid minerals and industries. The CRR is a portion of banks’ deposit kept with the CBN as reserves.

    However, the MPC team said the monetary policy in Nigeria was successful in delivering macro-economic stability until about the third quarter of 2014,  although its impact on job creation was negligible. It was then undermined by the latest global headwinds, principally the collapse in the oil prices in the international market.

    “One member noted that the prime lending rate stood at about 17 per cent and the retail rate for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at 27 per cent. Since he estimated the internal rate of return for large and small businesses at 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, it is evident why borrowers are struggling. He also cited data showing that private-sector credit extension had expanded by only 3.5 per cent year-to-dated by end-October and therefore far short of the target for the year of 26 per cent,” it said.

    The MPC said the consensus therefore argues for cuts in the monetary policy rate (MPR) and the CRR to reverse a trend decline in gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

    One member notes that more than 50 per cent of banks’ deposits mobilised were not available for intermediation/on-lending before the latest reduction in the CRR.

    The consensus of statements made the reduction in the CRR “conditional”. “The statements use different formulae to express a similar message. One refers to aggressive quantitative easing, a second calls for targeted lending and two more advocate the deployment of unconventional monetary policy tools. Another envisages a rebate mechanism whereby the commercial banks appear to benefit from the reduction in the CRR after they have disbursed to favoured sectors,” it said.

    Also, a dissenting voice quotes figures in the CBN’s banking stability report showing that gross lending increased by just N39 billion after the net injection of about N400 billion resulting from the cut in the CRR in September.

    Meanwhile, the next MPC meeting is in two weeks, at a time when there are mixed signals on the direction of monetary policy in Nigeria. The CBN is expected to announce a new forex policy which will give it the flexibility to bring the external and domestic economic variables into equilibrium. This may include the announcement of a new exchange rate band, with a floor of N185 and a ceiling of N220 during the first quarter.

     

  • Ogude loses cash, Nigerian passport to robbers

    Ogude loses cash, Nigerian passport to robbers

    Amkar Perm midfielder Fegor Ogude was robbed in Russia on Saturday and his Nigerian passport was among the important documents stolen by an unidentified woman.

    According to  wday.ru, the Nigeria international was at a shopping mall in the city when his purse with documents and money was stolen.

    Representatives of Amkar Perm have pleaded with the thief to return the international passport, promising that she won’t be reported to the authorities.

    If the thief is not found, Fegor Ogude may have to return to Nigeria to process a new travelling document.

    The former Warri Wolves skipper has been a player of Amkar Perm  since January 2014 following his transfer from Norwegian side Vålerenga, Oslo.

  • Kogi govt, APC trade words over bailout cash

    Kogi govt, APC trade words over bailout cash

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the Kogi State government is yet to apply for the bailout funds initiated by the Federal Government.

    The Head of Media, Abubakar Audu Governorship Campaign Organsation, Dr Tom Ohikere, at a news conference in Lokoja said Governor Idris Wada “tactfully refused to apply for the fund because of the heavy loan arrears the state was already enmeshed in.”

    He said records at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that 27 states applied for the bailout funds as at September 18, adding that the records showed that 24 of the states had received N222 billion as bailout loans.

    According to him, the documents showed that only Bayelsa, Borno and Cross Rivers states were yet to receive theirs.

    The Chief Communication Manager to Governor Wada, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, however, called for the discountenance of the claim, asserting that the Kogi State government applied for the bailout fund, which was approved by the CBN.

    He said: “If Kogi State did not apply, how come the CBN published the name of the state and the approval of N50.8 billion?

    “Kogi is among the three states to fulfil the requirements, which include but not limited to submission of payroll of civil servants, BVN and full list of biometric verification of workers.”

    Shaibu said the state applied for N80 billion as bailout fund to offset salary arrears of state and local government workers and gratuity of retired workers, while the CBN approved N50.8 billion.

    He said the debt profile of the state stood at N872 million, adding that the Debt Management Office (DMO) had the facts.

    Shaibu described the stance of APC as sheer ignorance, saying its position was a confirmation of the belief that Audu and the leaders of APC were behind the non- release of the fund.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state had directed workers to stay off work today to protest the delay in the release of the fund.

  • Nasarawa councils get N4.3b bailout cash

    The local government areas in Nasarawa State have received N4.3 billion bailout fund from the state government to pay their workers.

    The Chairman of Lafia Local Government Area and Chairman of the state’s Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Alhaji Suleiman Wanbai, spoke yesterday in Lafia, the state capital.

    Wanbai noted that the bailout fund the state got from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was N8.1 billion, with the state government taking N3.8 billion and the local governments getting N4.1 billion.

    The ALGON chief said the 13 local governments’ share would be spent on the arrears for July, August and September.

    He said: “With the bailout funds, we are happy to tell you that we are going to pay 50 per cent for July, 100 per cent for August and 100 per cent for September.”