Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has announced the revocation of 167 plots of land in some highbrow districts of the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Areas affected are Maitama, Gudu, Wuye which had the highest revocation, 41; Katampe, Katampe Extension, Wuse 2, Jabi, Utako, Idu Industrial zone, and Asokoro which had the second highest revocation, 39.In a notice issued Thursday night in Abuja, the administration said the plots were revoked due to the refusal or failure of their allottees to develop them.

“The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA hereby informs the general public that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him under Section 28(5)(a) & (b) of the Land Use Act 1978, revoked the underlisted plots with names and titles as reflected in our records for continued contravention of the terms of development of the Right of Occupancy to wit non-development”, the administration said in the notice signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola.

Some of the plots revoked in Maitama district A05 had names like Liyel Imoke, Musa Aboki Egu, Hassan Hadejia and Ishaya Baba.

In Jabi, some of the plots revoked had allottees such as Sam Nda-Isaiah, and Donubari Josephine Kogbara, while Katampe district had Peter Gregory Obi, BUA international among others.

In other areas, this revoked had names as Julius Berger Nigeria, Honeywell Construction, Uffot Joseph Ekaette, Shittu Mohammed, Udoma Udo Udoma, Kanu Agabi, Niki Niki Tobi, Ishaku Bello, and others.

Wike had on assumption of office vowed to restore the master plan of the territory and revoke plots that had not been developed or those whose ground rents have not been paid for years.

He had consequently given a two-week grace to allottees to pay their ground rents or risk revocation of their allocations.

Source:https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/09/peter-obi-others-lose-abuja-lands-as-wike-revokes-165-plots/

Persistent energy crisis in Nigeria has dealt a severe blow to industries, causing shutdowns, hampering productivity and escalating operational expenses. In this report, Daily Trust Saturday writes on the root causes of the power supply woes and the impact of escalating fuel costs on businesses in Nigeria.
Nigerians are facing a dire economic situation as businesses across the country grapple with the twin challenges of unreliable power supply and skyrocketing fuel costs.

Nigeria’s power supply has long been plagued by inefficiency and chronic underinvestment, an expert said.

And despite being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria’s power generation and distribution infrastructure remain inadequate and unreliable.


In recent times, frequent blackouts and power outages amid high tariffs have become a routine part of life for businesses, disrupting production schedules, leading to losses, and making it difficult to meet consumer demands.

This is further compounded by the recent hike in the cost of petrol that is now beyond the reach of average Nigerians.

Those who spoke to our correspondents said Nigeria stood at a critical crossroads, with businesses shutting down due to poor power supply and the relentless surge in fuel costs.

They said the impact on the economy and the lives of ordinary citizens was severe and required immediate attention.
They also said that to secure a brighter future for Nigerian businesses and the overall economy, concerted efforts from the government, private sector and international stakeholders were needed to address the energy crisis and chart a path towards sustainable growth and development.

“There is nowhere in the world where there is no subsidy,” said Umar Mohammed, an economist who works in a multi-national company in the United States.
“The reason why small and medium enterprises are collapsing in Nigeria is that there is no subsidy for them at all. They pay for light through their noses, and in most cases, electricity is not even available and they have to use diesel or petrol. Nigerians must also provide their own security for their business premises. Above all, they pay multiple taxes.

“This is not the case elsewhere. I have worked in at least four countries – Germany, Russia and the United Arab Emirate (UAE) and the difference is clear. Governments provide the enabling environment, constant electricity with various options, all in an effort to make people live a fulfilling life,” he said.

In the last two months, the cost of a litre of petrol in Nigeria has jumped from N195 to N617 without commensurate increase in the income of the citizens.

In many parts of the country, residents rarely get up to 12 hours of electricity, even as some communities live for days in darkness, with only few capable of buying petrol or diesel.
Amid power outages and crippling business opportunities, the House of Representatives had to wade in few days ago and called on the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to put a stop to the planned increase in electricity tariff for now.

Distribution companies (DisCos) recently alerted customers of a planned electricity tariff hike, which was hinged on the Multi-Year Tariff Oder (MYTO).

Assuming they had their way, previous exchange rate of N 441/$1 would be revised to approximately N750/$1, which would have an impact on the tariffs associated with electricity consumption.

It was gathered that under the planned hike, consumers within ‘B’ and ‘C’ with supply hours ranging from 12–16 hours per day would pay N100 per KWh, while Bands ‘A’ with 20 hours and above and ‘B’ with 16 to 20 hours would experience comparatively higher tariffs.

At present, the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO – 2022) approved by the NERC to run from 2022 to 2026, consumers who were paying about N16 per kilowatt an hour in 2015 now pay about N55, while maximum demand customers under band A, who were expected to enjoy electricity for 20 hours per day are paying about N71 to N80 for one kilowatt per hour.
Small and medium enterprises, which form the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, have been particularly vulnerable.

Continuous power disruptions force businesses to turn to expensive alternative power sources, such as diesel generators to maintain operations.

However, running generators comes with exorbitant costs, and many businesses are unable to bear this financial burden.

As a result, several businesses have been forced to shut down or scale back their operations, leading to significant job losses and reduced economic growth.

We’ll soon be forced out of business – SMEs

Inuwa Muhammad who sells soft drinks in Kano said he closed his shop due to lack of electricity and cannot afford powering his refrigerators with generators.
He said, “My capital is not more than N200,000 and what I am getting from the business cannot sustain it if I use a generator to power the refrigerators. And people will not buy if it is not cold.”

The pain of Abubakar Muhammad, a taxi driver, is also connected to the hike in the price of petrol, which made him sell off his vehicle.

He said he could no longer bear the cost of maintenance and buying petrol while there are fewer passengers on the road.

Ado Mai-Kayanmiya, a popular vendor of perishable food items in Hotoro, Kano, recently put a pause on his business on the ground of hike in the price of the items as a ripple effect of the cost of transportation.

“I have no choice than to halt everything and stop selling pending when things will stabilise. People are complaining every day that things are getting more costly,” he said.
In Jos, Plateau State, some business owners who spoke with Daily Trust Saturday said they were in dilemma as a result of epileptic power supply and petrol hike, which have led to skeletal operations, low patronage and gradual shutdown.

A businessman, Philip Galadima, who is into dry-cleaning service in the Rukuba road area of Jos, said that since the fuel subsidy removal started, things had been very difficult for him.

While the cost of production has increased, he is also battling low patronage.

An Irish potato seller, Faruq Rabilu, who purchased the product from Bokkos Mangu, Barkin Ladi, among other villages, said fuel subsidy removal had seriously affected his business.

“It has led to an increase in transportation, which has directly impacted on everything along the business value chain,” he said.

Malam Abubakar Yuguda, who runs a tailoring shop at Gombe Old Market for the past 15 years, said that despite opening daily for business, he had not made five sets of clothes in the past two months owing to poor power supply and high cost of living.
He said most of his customers stopped patronising him when he increased his rate in response to the hike in petrol price.

Daily Trust Saturday observed that the story is the same for most of the tailors in that area of the market where Malam Yuguda operates his shops.

One of the tailors, Habibu Shuaibu said, “We are now in a dilemma because when we charge higher we will lose our customers. At the same time, we cannot afford to run the sewing machines on generators and still make profit.”

Our correspondent reports that apart from tailors, other people affected by the removal of subsidy and poor power supply are those who run commercial phone charging outlets.

Babangida Adamu, who runs his business at the Bomala area of Gombe metropolis, said he had closed his shop.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that businesses are closing shops in Zaria, Kaduna State while others are running at a loss.

Aliyu Shehu, 28, who operates a barbing saloon said, “We run at a loss because of the high cost of fuel; but then, if I abandon the business, how do I feed my wife and two children? That’s why, no matter what, I just have to manage and stay in business,” he said.

Also, the managing director of Countryside Communications Limited, Mr Johnson Okanlawon, which offers in computer services and agent banking, lamented the difficulties in running his business in Lagos because of the fuel price increase and shortage of power supply.

According to him, the hike in fuel price is hurting the business, saying, “I make photocopies, spiral-binding and lamination, among other things that require constant power supply to thrive.”

He said he recently changed to a gas-enabled generator to reduce the cost of buying petrol to power his business.
“When I discovered that the cost of buying fuel to power my generators was killing, I changed to a gas-enabled generator last Monday, and that’s good for me because the gas is now cheaper and lasts longer,” Okanlawon said.

A welder at Mafoluku, Oshodi in Lagos, who introduced himself as Uncle Wale Welder, told Daily Trust Saturday that the twin calamity of irregular power supply and the rising cost of fuel in the country were gradually pushing him away from making ends meet.

Uncle Wale said the price hike had increased his operational cost and squeezed profit margin. “As machine operators, we rely heavily on power, but as fuel prices rise, our daily operational expenses also rise.”

Corroborating Uncle Wale on how the hike in pump price of fuel and irregular power supply are taking a toll on their businesses, a hair-dressing salon owner, Ayo Omo-Ade, told this newspaper that irregular power supply and expensive fuel had limited her working hours because of the cost implications.
Lady Omo-Ade said she closed her shops earlier than usual in this era of increased prices of fuel and abnormal power supply for her business to thrive.

She noted that power outages during hairdressing processes led to interruptions and inconsistent service quality.

“This may affect customers’ satisfaction and retention, which in return is potentially impacting our client base and reputation,” Omo-Ade said.

Source: https://dailytrust.com/how-businesses-are-shutting-down-due-to-poor-power-supply-cost-of-fuel/

Lately, residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs have been witnessing an upsurge in crime, Daily Trust Saturday reports.

Crime comes in diverse forms in Abuja, ranging from robbery, pick-pocketing, burling to car-theft, which is another aspect of criminality that appears to have defied the security agencies.

In March this year, the FCT administration’s ministerial task team raided and removed thousands of squatters from illegal settlements in the country’s capital.

Hundreds of squatters were removed from settlements in the green area at Wuse Zone 3 in the heart of the capital city, while their shanties were completely demolished.

The senior special assistant to the former FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, said it was unacceptable to have such notorious settlements along the river belt in the heart of the city, where criminal acts are traced to the shanties.

[b]“It is a notorious settlement. To our shock, it is far wider than what we expected as we spent the whole day here. We had to remove everything, all of the illegal shanties. We hope the rate at which criminals come from under bridges and attack people, stealing from them, would be reduced across the FCT,” he said.

On Tuesday, May 9, Jide Olusola, one of Daily Trust’s reporters, had a nasty experience as his vehicle was stolen in front of his new house in Kubwa.

He said, “I parked in front of my house in Kubwa. I had just moved in there, so I was inside arranging my things bit by bit. I came out around 11am to pick some money inside the car to buy drink and snacks. I picked my car key, went outside and behold, I didn’t see it where I parked.”
He said the matter was reported at the Phase 4 police station, Kubwa, adding, “But sadly, the officers were asking me to open a file and it would require money. I have forgotten about it.”

[/b]Another Daily Trust member of staff, Abdullateef Salau, narrated how his vehicle disappeared in the Lugbe area of the territory on June 18.

“My car, a 2005 model of Toyota Corolla (Sport) with registration number: KSF167CX, was stolen where it was parked on the side of the street in my place of residence at Sector ‘F’, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), along Airport Road, Lugbe, Abuja.

“I parked the vehicle at the place on June 18, 2023, around 2.30pm and then left for work.

“There are two entrances to my street. Where the car was parked has a small gate through which we access my house and it is usually locked when night falls. And vigilantes are stationed there.

“When I returned from work at 10pm that day, I used another entrance to the street, knowing that the gate at the other side must have been locked by that time.
“Since it is my usual place of parking for over five years, with the presence of vigilantes, I decided to just walk into my house without checking. Unfortunately, we didn’t find the car there the following morning when I wanted to take the kids to school.

“We suspected that the vehicle was stolen in day-time when security around the area was more relaxed. It is a traumatic experience to find out that your very important property acquired with hard-earned money had disappeared without any traces. It is very sad,” he said,

Salau said it was reported to the police at Lugbe station and, “As usual, an investigative police officer was assigned to handle the matter.

“The officer told me that he had done what was required of him, including sending report to the police command headquarters. He also said they would communicate to the Department of Road Transport Services for them to be watchful of such stolen vehicles when registering. Mine is yet to be found,” he added.

[b]On June 27, Saawua Terzungwe, the Deputy Politics Editor of this paper, escaped an assassination on his life.

The journalist said he was on the production desk till some minutes past 11pm before he left office to his residence at the Mararaba axis in Nasarawa State.

Narrating his ordeal, Terzungwe said, “It was actually an assassination attempt. They didn’t demand any money or debit cards from me. Even when one of them ordered me to surrender my car key, their boss was angry with him.

“He ordered them to kill me and forget about other things. But God helped me despite shooting at me severally. I later escaped through the backdoor and navigated my way through a bush path to the police station. One of my neighbours said they were still looking for me in the mini estate and shooting, threatening that they must kill me that night. But I really thank God for saving my life.

“They, however, made away with my car key, wallet and one of my phones when I had already escaped. They picked my wallet and the phone from my car, which I was yet to lock before the attack. They followed me to the gate in a small car. I came down from my car and opened the gate.[/b]

“After parking my car, I was going back to lock the gate, when three of them gained entry and confronted me with guns. Their boss ordered them to kill me. But I really thank God, I am safe now. I spent the night in my uncle’s house.”

He said the incident was reported to the police.

Other survivors and witnesses also narrated regular car-snatching and other robbery incidents around the Central Business District, Katampe, Minister’s Hill expressway and other areas of Abuja.

J[b]oy Michael, a trader at the Maitama Ultra-Modern Market, Kubwa told Daily Trust Saturday that, “In the first week of June this year, I was on my way back from the market around 7pm when I was approached by two young guys in the Pipeline area of Kubwa. The area was a bit lonely. They took away my phone and my wallet.

“My debit card was in the wallet. I didn’t report to the police because I felt it would be a waste of time and energy.”
[/b]
An information technology expert, Tunde Olusegun, who had an encounter with ‘one chance’ car criminals, said he was yet to get over the traumatic encounter, which happened on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

Olusegun said he was commuting from Area 1 to Kubwa when the incident happened.

He recalled that his attackers were only two in the cab he boardedround 9pm on that fateful day.

“When I noticed that the driver was not picking more passengers after I entered, I asked him why and he replied that he would pick at the next bus stop. When he did not do that, I inquired again, but this time, he ignored me.

“I was robbed of my laptop and mobile phones after I was threatened with a knife. They slowed the vehicle down and pushed me out before Nicon Junction. I was lucky that I sustained minor injuries,” he said.

The impunity with which the criminals operate suggests a more fundamental crisis in the country’s security architecture.

Experts have posited that there is a correlation between the adverse economy and the growing crime rate in the country.

In an interview with Daily Trust Saturday, a senior security expert, Tajudeen Abdulmaleek, who also narrated his sad experience in the hands of hoodlums near the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, said, “The harsh economy has rendered many people jobless. The government in power did not do anything in terms of creating jobs except giving free money, and free money is not always there.”

He attributed the inability of the police to deal with security issues to poor “funding, motivation and welfare package for police officers.”

He lamented that Abuja is porous, adding that due to corruption, the closed-circuit television (CCTV) facilities that are supposed to be all over the city have either failed to function or were never installed.

Abdulmaleek, however, expressed optimism that the current acting Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, would correct some of the anomalies in the Nigeria Police Force.

Another expert who wished to remain anonymous also attributed the upsurge in crime to poor economy.

“Without a deliberate policy to revamp the economy and create jobs for the teeming youth, nothing will stop these desperate youths who are determined to perpetrate crime to survive. The government must change its strategy,” he said.

Yusuf Muhammed, a resident of Lugbe, told our correspondent that although it was his first time encountering ‘one-chance’, his experience was frightening.

Muhammed said the robbers had threatened to push her out of the vehicle while it was still on speed.

“I mistakenly took an unmarked vehicle because I was in a hurry to meet a friend at the Lugbe Police Sign Board and he was already waiting. Sadly, I was not sensitive to those guys’ plans until we got to the express along Kuchingoro. It was in the night and they had to turn again and start carrying me around and for almost one hour we were on the express.

“I do not have a deep knowledge of Abuja like that. So, it contributed to my falling into their hands. That day, I had N45,000 which I just cashed. I also had two phones which they took away.

“At a point, sensing danger and sitting among four dangerous looking men, I was ready to let go of my money for the sake of my life but not the phones, including an iPhone, were hard to let go.

“They kept dragging and threatening to throw me out. In fact, one punched me hard in the stomach and chest and I became weak. In short, he was about to open the door of the vehicle and when I saw that they meant it I had to give up the fight. I was thrown off the moving vehicle,” Anas lamented.

Nnaemeka Prince, a civil servant, while relating his experience, said he was thrown out of the vehicle after being disposed of his phones and laptop, “but for God, an oncoming vehicle would have crushed me.”

He said: “I boarded the vehicle in the night around 8pm going to Apo Bridge. I met three people at the back seat but we were two that fell victim eventually. When they wanted to rob us, they parked and warned us to cooperate or they will kill us and nothing would happen.

“We were rough handled so much that the only thing on my mind was to just give them whatever they wanted and move on. I had just N3,500 and they asked for my ATM but I was not carrying it with me. Once I don’t have much money in my account, I don’t usually carry it. That was a saving grace for me. They collected the other guy’s ATM and forced him to give them a pin number.”

When contacted, the police public relations officer, FCT command, Josephine Adeh, said residents hardly reported cases of robbery attacks, car theft, one-chance operations and many other crimes to the police. She encouraged residents to develop confidence in the police by ensuring that security challenges are promptly reported.

In a report on September 13, 2021, Daily Trust had exposed how victims of stolen phones and cars in the FCT paid huge sums to the police and tracking companies in an attempt to try and recover their properties, which shows the growing incidents of criminality in the city.

But the police spokesperson said, “I am saying that there is no way police can react or investigate matters that have not been reported. We have our numbers out there; we have our Public Complaints Bureau (PCM) where you can report the misconduct of police officers also.

“If you report and the police officers in that division refuse to take action, you can call that number and report those police officers.”

“The public is, therefore, urged to maintain vigilance and report suspicious activities to the police through the following emergency numbers: 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883, while the PCM desk could be reached at 09022222352.

“In cases like car-snatching, we immediately inform all states, our stop-and-search points and radio our borders so that they will be on the lookout. But when they are not reported, the criminals would escape with the stolen vehicle.”

She said the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, Haruna Garba and his team, were not relenting in bringing the criminals to their knees, saying the command would ensure that the city is made safe for residents.

Source: https://dailytrust.com/criminals-heighten-attrocities-in-abuja/

CBN’s overdraft gulps N1.2 trillion
• Revenue performance below 70 per cent
• Fiscal deficit hits N25.5 trillion in less than eight years
• Maturing debt fund account receives no allocation in nine months
• Inflation hits 22.79, far below experts’ projection
• Economists balk at NBS’ inflation reading, call for integrity test

Nigeria’s grave fiscal position for the 2022 financial year became clearer yesterday, as latest data showed that of N4.26 trillion total revenue available for financing the 2022 budget in the first three quarters of last year, a colossal sum of N4.23 trillion went into debt financing.

The figure, contained in the budget performance report prepared by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Budget Office, has effectively raised the country’s debt service to revenue ratio to 99.2 per cent – the highest the country would record for a similar time horizon.

The figure is close to 10 percentage points higher than the estimated 80.6 per cent (covering January to November) captured in the 2023 budget document. The document said the Federal Government had spent N5.24 trillion servicing its debt obligations to different local and foreign creditors.

In the first four months of the year, the debt service to income ratio was over 100 per cent but the spike was cancelled subsequently.

Country Director of the World Bank, Shubham Chaudhuri, had warned that the proportion of government’s revenue going into debt service cost would continue to trend upward in the next five years and balloon to 160 per cent in 2027, unless radical reforms are taken.

The ratio spiked post-COVID-19, hitting 76 per cent in 2021. There have been concerns, but the government explains that its debt accumulation has been modest, except that revenues have failed to grow to match spending.

About 28 per cent of the debt service cost for the first three quarters or N1.2 trillion, according to the document released at the weekend, went to the controversial ways and means (W&M) facilities granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Domestic debt gulped N2.15 trillion in servicing while N871 billion was provisioned for foreign debt in the nine months.

The actual cost of debt service was 41.9 per cent higher than the pro-rated estimate of N2.98 trillion captured in the approved budget.

In the 2022 budget, the government budgeted N292.7 billion for sinking funds to retire maturing debts. But for the first three quarters not a single naira remitted was put aside.

While debt funding was reasonably high and echoed sustainability questions, the government continued the borrowing spree, accumulating N3.41 trillion in fresh debt liabilities. About 85 per cent of the fresh loans or N2.9 trillion was sourced from the local debt market.

That reinforces the growing preference for the local market on one hand, and the shrinking international market on the other hand. With the interest rate currently at about five per cent in the United States market, the restrictive monetary regime is taking its toll across economies, with high-risk regions being the most affected.

Experts have warned that the rising recourse to the local market by the government for capital mobilisation would continue to crowd out critical private sector investments needed to create jobs and grow the economy.

As in the past few years, the revenue performance was about 70 per cent. Whereas the prorated revenue target was estimated at N6.18 trillion, only N4.25 trillion of 69 per cent was realised in the period, kneecapping the annualised income at N5.7 trillion.

Sadly, capital projects continued to get low attention with the total spending for the nine months amounting to N1.68 trillion. The figure is about 38 per cent less than the pro-rated budget of N2.7 trillion.

Unlike previous periods when the recurrent appropriation was overrun, in the first three quarters, the actual spending was 17 per cent short of the estimated N4.53 trillion.

The fiscal deficit stood at N2.6 trillion. From 2015 to 2021, the government accumulated a total of N22.94 trillion, according to The Guardian’s analysis of relevant data obtained from The Budget Office and OAGF. This puts the total fiscaleficit accumulated under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration at N25.5 trillion. Last year’s deficit was projected at N7.35 trillion.

“The price of crude oil in the international market averaged $99.49 per barrel in the third quarter of 2022, representing a decrease of $14.29 per barrel (12.56 per cent) from the $113.78 per barrel reported in the second quarter of 2022. The performance also reflects an increase of $27.09 per barrel (37.42 percent) and $26.49 per barrel (36.29 percent) when compared to the $72.40 per barrel recorded in the third quarter of 2021 and $73.0 budget benchmark, respectively.

“The increase in crude oil price during the period could be attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of the numerous sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies against Russia which disrupted global oil production/supply. It was also influenced by the improvement in global economic activities after easing the different phases of COVID-19 lockdown,” the report.

It added: “In the 2022 Fiscal Framework, gross federally collectible revenue is projected at ₦18.47 trillion, comprising ₦9.369 trillion (50.73 per cent) oil revenue and ₦9.1 trillion (49.27 per cent) other revenues. This translates to a prorate quarterly gross federally collectible revenue projection of ₦4.617 trillion for 2022. Gross oil revenue stood at ₦1.77 trillion in the third quarter of 2022. This translates to a ₦567.79 billion (24.24 per cent) shortfall when compared with the 2022 quarterly budget estimate. The performance was however ₦289.6 billion (19.5 percent) and ₦475.48 billion (36.6 per cent) above the ₦1.485 trillion and ₦1.299 trillion generated in the second quarter of 2022 and a corresponding period of 2021 respectively.”

Meanwhile, policy inconsistency is said to be responsible for the food-pulled inflation Nigeria is currently experiencing even as headline inflation stood at 22.79 per cent last month.

The figure is reasonably higher than 22.4 per cent recorded in May before the government pulled the plug on fuel subsidy payment but far behind projections. Experts, including the former Statistician General of the Federation, Yemi Kale, projected the inflation rate to spike to 30 per cent in June.

Analysts are wondering why inflation stood at 22.79 per cent despite the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly. The removal resulted in a near 300 per cent hike in the pump price of fuel. Transportation costs have also increased by over 100 per cent in some cities. These were expected to have fed into the CPI data.

The inconsistency between the inflation figure and the spike in the price of fuel has integrity questions on the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s reporting of the consumer price index (CPI).

Some economists have expressed doubt about the June 2023 inflation figures, citing escalating high cost of goods and transport.

The NBS was however quick to note that the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers may not fully capture the impact of the fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the exchange rate.

“This is because the data collection for computing the rate for the reference month typically stops around the middle of the month, meaning that the June numbers only reflect approximately two weeks of the policy impact on consumer prices.

“The full effect of the policy as relates to prices can, therefore, not be reflected in June only, but also in subsequent months, based on actual prices collected in market outlets across the country”, the NBS added.


The NBS report showed that the headline inflation for June 2023 was 22.79 percent which is just 0.38 per cent higher than the May figure which was 22.41 per cent.

The economists, in separate telephone interviews, wondered how the NBS generated its figures given that the first shock of the fuel subsidy removal was felt in June with the prices of everything jumping over 100 per cent. They said an integrity test on its operation is necessary.

The Lead Director Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, though believes that the full impact of the fuel subsidy removal would be seen when the July inflation figures are published, said he could not understand how the figures are as low as published by NBS given the heavy depreciation of the naira.

“Yes, I agree that the subsidy removal hasn’t really taken a serious effect, yes prices shot up in quick reaction to the removal, but the full impact would be felt by July.

“But remember it was also that period when we announced the unification of our exchange rate regime, without first securing the sources of the foreign exchange. That is why you find the naira collapsing like a pack of cards.

“Ask yourself, if the official exchange rate moved from a little over N400 to now about N800, and given the fact that we import virtually everything, that will give you an idea of what the prices in the market are. So I don’t know how the NBS came about its figures,” he said.

He said it is easy for Nigeria to halt the escalating inflation if only the nation could focus on production of goods and services.

He noted: “We also need to fight insecurity so that farmers can go back to their farms and the rising food prices can come down.”

He said Nigeria also needs to increase its oil production level to earn more foreign exchange.


“I don’t understand why the Dangote refinery that was billed to start production in July has yet to take off. The government should direct the refinery to start production immediately to reduce our importation of fuel as that would save the nation a lot in foreign exchange,” he said.

Also speaking, the National President, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim, said the major problem was that Nigeria is a consumption nation, with little or no production.

“We are a consumption economy, we are not producing and the sooner we start production the better for us and the only way you can do it is to get the energy sector right. There is no level of investment in the energy sector that is too much. If we are able to reduce the cost of transportation of food items from the farms to the market, prices will come down,” he noted.

Source: https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria-spends-over-99-revenue-to-service-debts-as-inflation-bites-harder/

Some motorists who stopped to refuel at the NNPC Mega Station in Hotoro, Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano State, have driven out without doing so.

They had gone to the station with the thought of buying fuel at N540 per litre, but immediately they were informed of the upward review, they left.
One of the Staff of the station, who asked not to be named said, “the increment took effect this morning and as you can see, customers have been leaving.”
A tricycle operator, Nura Isiya, said, “This is ridiculous, where are we heading for in this country? Honestly I can’t buy at this price.”

A car owner, Shamsuddeen Muhammad, left the station without refuelling, saying he now preferred to buy from independent marketers who are yet to adjust their prices as at the time of filing this report.

“Haba Mallam, what is this? I have called someone and I can get it at cheaper price at least the N540 to N550 per litre in other stations.



“Let me rush there before they get wind of the situation and increase the price also. We are doomed in this country.”

Also speaking, a passenger said, “So now even the government is doing things without announcement?”

Daily Trust observed that over 30 trucks load of fuel are currently parked outside the premises of the State NNPC Depot.

Even at the mega station, two trucks, one for diesel and the other with petrol are about to offload more to the station.

Source: https://dailytrust.com/just-in-motorists-desert-kano-station-as-petrol-hits-n620-per-litre/

The Kano State Government has faulted the distribution of the Federal Government’s allocation of N500 billion through the Bank of Industry to support small-scale industries across the country’s geopolitical zones.

Governor Abba Yusuf made the complaint during a meeting with representatives from the Kano Cooperative Society at the Government House on Thursday evening.

He revealed that the distribution was heavily skewed, with Lagos State receiving 47 per cent of the allocation, followed by the South-South Zone with 17%, and other regions receiving significantly lower percentages.

Yusuf described the distribution mode as “unfair, unconstitutional, and illegal”. He called on relevant authorities and members of the National Assembly to rectify the situation and take appropriate action against those responsible.
He said the state government would support Cooperative Societies in their efforts to alleviate poverty and regain their influence.

The meeting was held as part of activities to commemorate the 2023 International Day of Cooperatives.

Yusuf, represented by his Deputy, Aminu Gwarzo, reiterated his administration’s primary goal of eradicating poverty in Kano state.
In a statement on Friday by the deputy governor’s spokesman, Ibrahim Shuaibu, Gwarzo emphasized the importance of Cooperative Societies as vehicles through which citizens can improve their lives and contribute to the overall development of their community and the nation.
resident of the Kano Cooperative Society, Musa Aikawa, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, emphasized the significance of cooperatives in enhancing the lives of their members.

He disclosed that the state has over 2.8 million cooperative members, primarily consisting of young people.

Aikawa requested the intervention of the state government to develop strategies for reducing the high rate of unemployment in the state.

Yusuf announced that the state government would engage cooperative societies in designing poverty eradication and sustainable development programs.

“Furthermore, committees would be established to review the activities of Cooperative Desk Officers in each Local Government Area, while desk officers would be introduced in major markets such as Dawanau, Kantin Kwari, Yan Lemo to guide and support cooperative activities,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Solid Minerals, Mairo Danbattaencouraged the youth to embrace cooperative business ventures as a means of progress and reducing unemployment in Kano.

Source: https://punchng.com/n500bn-palliatives-kano-govt-faults-mode-of-distribution/

Eleven electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have sought the approval of the Nigerian Electricity Companies (DisCos) to review tariffs.

This was contained in a joint application dated 14th July, 2023 titled, “Notice of Application for Rate Review By the Electricity Distribution Companies.”
They established their calls for rating the review on the requirement to incorporate changes in macroeconomic parameters as well as other elements affecting the quality of service, operations and sustainability of the companies.

“Pursuant to Section 116 (1) and 2(a&b) of the Electricity Act 2023 and other extant rules, the eleven (11) successor electricity distribution companies (“DisCos”) have filed an application for rate review with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (“NERC” or the “Commission”),” the letter partly read.
“The request for rate review is premised on the need to incorporate changes in macroeconomic parameters and other factors affecting the quality of service, operations and sustainability of the companies.”

The energy distributors also disclosed that the Commission would welcome comments from Nigerians, stating, “Accordingly, the Commission hereby invites the general public for comments on the rate review applications by the distribution licensees.
“Interested stakeholders are advised to review and take into consideration the excerpts of the Rate Review Applications filed with the Commission by the respective licensees.

“The applications can be accessed on the Commission’s website at www.nerc.gov.ng.

“As part of the rule-making process and in the exercise of the powers conferred by the Electricity Act, the Commission shall conduct a Rate Case Hearing on the applications prior to making a ruling.

“Any person wishing to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor should forward his/her application to tariff@nerc.gov.ng before close of business on 20th July 2023. The Request to Participate shall include the following:

“i. An explanation of the person’s interest in the proceeding and how the party would be affected by the outcome of the Application; and
“ii. A description of the party’s concerns, observations comments and/or objections to the application.

“All members of the public and stakeholders are encouraged to send their comments or representations before the close of business on 20th July 2023 to the Chairman/CEO, The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.”
Some DisCos had notified consumers of tariff hike with effect from July 1, 2023. However, they backed down after NERC said it was not notified of the move.

Source: https://dailytrust.com/discos-move-to-hike-tariff-seek-nercs-nod/

The merger will unite the salt maker with Dangote Sugar, owners of sub-Saharan Africa's largest sugar refinery, and Dangote Rice into a single entity.
NASCON Allied Industries Plc, the salt-making arm of the conglomerate Dangote Industries Limited, will contemplate a business combination with two other food companies in the group during a meeting of its directors’ board later this month.

The marriage is expected to unite the salt-maker with Dangote Sugar, owners of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest sugar refinery, and Dangote Rice into a single entity, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Both NASCON and Dangote Sugar are listed in Lagos, while Dangote Rice is not quoted yet. Dangote Industries Limited is the holding company for a raft of firms majority-owned by Africa’s wealthiest man Aliko Dangote.

The planned merger is coming some 31 months after the group’s fiercest rival, BUA Group, announced a similar move consolidating its food businesses – rice, sugar, flour, edible oils and flour – into a new company known as BUA Foods.

BUA Foods would go on to list on the Nigerian Exchange and is currently Nigeria’s biggest consumer goods company by market value, worth over N2.4 trillion as of market open on Thursday and N649.6 billion in total assets as of 31 March.
BUA Group is controlled by Abdul Samad Rabiu, Nigeria’s second-richest person and Africa’s fourth-wealthiest.

Dangote Sugar and NASCON opened trade respectively on Thursday at a market capitalisation of N329.8 billion and N70.2 billion.

The two had total assets estimated at N558.9 billion and N59.2 billion as of the end of March.
Dangote Group’s biggest bet is the 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery in Lekki, Lagos, commissioned in May and said to have cost $19 billion.

BUA Group is also building a refinery in Akwa Ibom State with a capacity to process 200,000 barrels of crude daily, expected to come on board by 2025.

Source:https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/609742-dangote-to-merge-salt-sugar-rice-businesses-into-single-company.html

Demand for made-in-Nigeria slippers, beverages and noodles soar in countries in the West African sub-region despite the low trade volume witnessed across the Seme-Krake border in Lagos.

Daily Trust investigation at the Seme-Krake border revealed that locally made slippers are now in high demand in countries like Benin Republic, Togo and Burkina.

This rise in the export of locally made goods is despite the low trade volume recorded by the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Controller of the command, Dera Nnadi, noted that while the demand for foreign made items like slippers by Nigerians was on the increase, neighbouring countries were demanding similar products made in Nigeria.

He said the items that were on high demand on the export list in the sub region included slippers and beverages produced by companies in Nigeria.

He explained that, “Slippers is a very unique product; there are some slippers we manufacture here in Nigeria that are in high demand in West African countries. Similarly, there also some that are also manufactured in other countries in the sub-region that are on high demand in Nigeria

“It is a very funny game actually. I saw a document on the export of slippers. We have the one made in Nigeria which the people there like, and they also have the ones which our people like. But those ones don’t pay duty. Items produced in any ECOWAS nation don’t pay duty.

“For agro produce, we have zobo, we have hibiscus and others.”

The command’s revenue target for the year 2023 stands at N1.96 billion. However, despite the low trade volume, the command has been able to realise about N1.25 billion as duty in the first half of the year.

Source:https://dailytrust.com/demand-for-made-in-nigeria-slippers-beverages-noodles-soar-in-w-africa/

Members of the House of Representatives are demanding an upward review of their salaries and allowances, following the removal of fuel subsidy and the current economic situation in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the demand was the outcome of a meeting the lawmakers had on July 11 after going into an executive session during plenary.NAN reports that the complaints from members arising from salaries and allowances forced the House to go into executive session in order to douse tension.
The lawmakers had also demanded from the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abass, the reason for the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances, causing some of them to resort to loans.

However, one of the lawmakers who was at the meeting but craved anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the outcome of the executive session, dismissed the rumour.

Refuting the speculations, the lawmaker said they only told the speaker that their salaries and allowances could no longer meet the demand of their job, hence a review was necessary.

“So nobody talked about any money or whether we have been paid or not,” the lawmaker explained.
The source said their request was a sequel to the current economic reality following the subsidy removal which had caused hardship, making goods and services to skyrocket in the country.

The lawmaker said that the speaker did not promise them anything on the review of their salaries and allowances, because such demand could only be accommodated in the budget after due process.

According to the legislator, the speaker however told his colleagues that their demsnd on review of their salaries and allowances were not in the 2023 budget.

According to the source, the speaker cannot have promised anything, and that “we all know the situation in the country, we are all facing the same problem”.Meanwhile, to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, the House of Representatives received a communication from President Bola Tinubu on July 12, seeking an amendment to the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act.
The amendment is to accommodate N500 billion for the provision of palliatives for Nigerians.
in the letter, Tinubu said the request was necessary to enable the government provide palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/07/subsidy-removal-reps-demand-upward-review-of-lawmakers-salaries-allowances/

President Bola Tinubu has written the Senate requesting it to confirm the appointment of the new service chiefs.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the letter during plenary on Tuesday.

The service chiefs to be screened for confirmation are Christopher Musa, a major general, as chief of defence staff and Taoreed Lagbaja, a major general, as chief of army staff.

Others are Emmanuel Ogalla, a rear admiral, as chief of naval staff and Hassan Abubakar, an air vice marshal, as chief of air staff.

They were appointed on 19 June.
The Senate president, however, referred the confirmation request to the Committee of the Whole on the ground that the Senate has yet to constitute its special and standing committees.

Source:https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/609192-tinubu-writes-senate-seeks-confirmation-of-service-chiefs.html

Bauchi State House of Assembly has adopted Hausa Language in addition to English in conducting business of the House.

Speaker of the House, Rt Hon Abubakar Y Suleiman, announced this at the plenary shortly after member representing Shira Constituency, Hon. Auwal Hassan, moved a motion, on Tuesday.

Hassan said that the English is the official language adopted for conducting of governmental and nongovernmental institutions in Nigeria and the Section 97 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Order 3 Rule 8 of the Standing Orders of the Bauchi State House of Assembly 2017 provides that the proceedings and debates of the House shall be conducted in English Language, the house may conduct its business in one or more other languages spoken in the State.

He submitted that that Hausa being the most popular spoken language in Bauchi, used for communication purpose by over 90% of people across the State, should be adopted in addition to English as second official language.

Seconding the motion, Hon. Musa Wakili Nakwada representing Bogoro Constituency, commended his colleague for the motion, recalling that he moved same motion in the 9th Assembly.


After the Speaker put the motion to voice vote, the house unanimously adopted it.

Source: https://dailytrust.com/bauchi-assembly-adopts-hausa-as-language-of-communication/

The recent 40 per cent hike in the exchange rate for cargo clearance at the seaports and the increase in tariff on imported cars by a terminal operator, Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited, has led to about 70 per cent drop in the sale of second-hand imported cars.

The PUNCH reported last week that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Customs Service had taken the ongoing foreign exchange reforms to the maritime sector with a 40 per cent increase in the exchange rate used for calculating the import duty.

The NCS had a few weeks ago raised the exchange rate used for the calculation of import duty from N422.30/dollar to N589/dollar.

The development, which has led to a corresponding 40 per cent increase in import duties on imported cargoes, including vehicles, has caused anxiety among operators in the maritime sector with clearing agents, freight forwarders and importers calling for an immediate reversal of the policy.

As that was gradually sinking in, the CBN on Thursday raised the exchange rate for cargo clearance by 31 per cent. The interest rate was moved from N589/$ to N770/$.

The NCS announced this development in a circular dated July 4, 2023, titled, ‘Implementation of the floating foreign exchange rate regime’ and was signed by the Assistant Controller General, IT & Modernisation, K. I. Adeola.

The circular read in part, “The CBN has instituted the floating exchange rate regime, which has given rise to incessant changes in the exchange rate for trade. The policy is to be implemented by all ministries, departments and agencies of the government, including the NCS.”

The service through the circular directed its area controllers to ensure that the information was communicated to relevant stakeholders.

Confirming the development, the Youth Leader of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Tin Can Island chapter, Remilekun Sikiru, said the directive was communicated to members of the group in the early hours of Thursday.

Sikiru, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Sikremstar Logistics Limited, explained that a 2004 Toyota Camry that was cleared for N1m before the introduction of the Vehicle Identification Number for clearing of imported vehicles was now being cleared for N1.9m.

Giving details of the new rate for clearing vehicles from 2001 to 2014, Sikiru said, “The actual duty on Toyota Camry is N705,000, while the total duty and clearance cost is N1.7m; for Corolla, the duty is N558,000 and total clearance cost is N1.3m; Sienna duty is N930,000 and total clearance cost is N2.2m; duty on Highlander is N1.1m, bringing the total clearance cost to N2.6m; duty on Venza is N1.2m and total cost is N3m.

“For Lexus RX350, the duty is now N1.5m, bringing the total clearance cost to N3m; duty on Lexus ES350 is N1.3m and the total cost is N3m; for Toyota RAV4, the duty is N831,000 and total cost of clearing it is N1.2m; Honda Pilot’s duty is N966,000 and the total clearance cost is N2.2m; Honda Accord’s duty amounts to N769,000 and total clearance cost is N1.8m; for Toyota Tacoma, the duty is N417,000 and total clearance cost is N818,000. These vehicles are from 2001 to 2014.”

Total duty or total clearance cost means the duty payable on a car plus the surcharge, ECOWAS duty and the seven per cent port development levy.

The development came barely one month after the Federal Government removed the fuel subsidy and floated the naira. It also came at a time electricity distribution firms were considering increasing power tariffs.


The National Public Relations Officer, NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, who confirmed the new exchange rate on the agency’s portal, said it was only implementing the CBN policy.

“Whatever you see in our system is what has been communicated to us. It is determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria. So whatever we are using is what is obtainable as communicated to us. It is a monetary policy; we only implement what is given to us. It is a monetary policy and anything monetary is not determined by us, it is determined by the CBN. We only use what is communicated to us,” Maiwada stated.

Sikiru had earlier said the new rate had taken effect on the Customs portal and that the customs duty payable on vehicles had increased astronomically.

According to him, this development may lead to cargoes, including vehicles, being trapped at the terminals.

“The customs duty has been increased and it will lead to a heavy increment in duty payment on general goods and cargoes. This will bring hardship on importers,” Sikiru added.

Also speaking, a freight forwarder and Chief Executive Officer, 2B Frank Nigeria Limited, Nwegbe Frankypaul, said, “Freight forwarders woke up on Saturday to realise that the dollar rate had been increased from about N423 per dollar to about N590 per dollar.”

Nwegbe pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to ensure the depreciation of the value of older vehicles.


The Founder of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Lucky Amiwero, said, “The moment you allow the naira to float freely in terms of exchange that is what you get. And it is going to affect the prices of goods. It is going to take a lot of licensed customs agents out of work because most of them are going to lose their customers.”

The Vice-President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Nnadi Ugochukwu, said, “It will affect businesses; there is a container I have for someone, before now, we used to clear that container for N4.3m. With the new exchange rate, the clearing cost is now N6.5m.”

A licensed Customs agent, Mr Festus Ukwu, said, “Even if the Federal Government wants to do exchange rate harmonisation, they should know how to go about it. This increase is a very big one.”


However, while the agents were still lamenting the increased exchange rate, the PTML slammed a 36 per cent tariff on imported used cars.

This development coming from a terminal operator that specialises mostly in the importation of cars worsened the woes of vehicle importers and sellers.

In a public notice sighted by our correspondent, the terminal operator said the current economic conditions of surging inflation, coupled with the devaluation of the currency and removal of subsidy on petrol had caused its operational cost to increase.

The terminal operator in the notice said its action had received the endorsement of relevant authorities.

The notice read in part, “The PTML would like to bring to the attention of its esteemed customers that the current economic conditions of surging inflation, coupled with the devaluation of currency and removal of fuel subsidy have caused the operational costs to increase multi-fold. Hence, having received the endorsement of the relevant authorities, it has become imperative to restructure our terminal tariffs from the 1st of July 2023.

“The PTML is confident that its esteemed customers will understand the rationale behind this review that will assist us in ensuring our superior level of service, while keeping the competitiveness of its rates.”

Reacting to all these developments, the President of the Berger Motor Dealers Association of Nigeria, Mr Metche Nnadiekwe, said that currently, members of his group were recording about a 70 per cent drop in patronage.

He said, “I don’t know if they think at all before coming up with policies like the increase in tariff or is it that when they wake up in the morning they just come up with policies. There is no need for an increase in the exchange rate for cargo clearance. We are still talking about that and the terminal is coming up with another increase, which has finally killed the business.

“There is a drastic drop in the volume of patronage we get here; there is up to 70 per cent drop in the patronage. The thing is there is no money to buy; people are not coming again to buy from us; we just sit down here and are doing nothing. The last time we checked many of our members are out of business; these are people who have bills to pay and they come out every day looking at their vehicles and no customer is coming to buy as a result of the additional money and all that.”

Also speaking, the Secretary General of the Lagos State Motor Dealers Association, Mr Tai Olaniran, said the dealers now focus more on reselling Nigerian used cars.

Olaniran stated, “It is difficult here and we don’t know the way forward; what they are trying to do is to discourage older vehicles and that is why we are now dealing with reselling Nigerian used vehicles. Because when you are clearing the same 2005 or 2006 model, you will find out that it is the same amount as the 2016 model. So, with the increment, you will see that they want to discourage older vehicles. It is going to affect us quite alright and it will affect the people as well.


“And many of us will go out of business or we will continue dealing in Nigerian used vehicles. So, we prefer Nigerian used vehicles instead of going for Tokunbo cars. With this increase in costs now, we will continue to do it so that we won’t go out of business; the percentage increase is much. At least since the removal of fuel subsidy and all that, most people don’t use cars again, so the volume of vehicle sales has dropped radically and I think the drop is up to 50 per cent, and it may be higher, I am not sure.”

A car dealer in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, Mr Johnpaul Ejiogu, said, “People now prefer to buy Nigerian-used cars to Tokunbo cars. You will find out that even the Nigerian-used cars are not affordable; they are also expensive but just a bit cheaper than the Tokunbo cars. We mostly deal in those ones and it is even very difficult to get buyers now. I will say that there is about 70 per cent drop in car sales now.”

An e-hailing cab driver, Joshua Abbey, said he chose to buy a Nigerian-used car for his e-hailing business because that was what he could afford.

“I wanted to go into the e-hailing transport business and I planned to get a Tokunbo car for that purpose, but when I priced the car, the dealers were quoting almost N4m for a 2004 model of Toyota Camry so I decided to buy a Nigerian-used version; even though it was expensive, it cost less than the Tokunbo one. I know that getting a Tokunbo would have been better for my business, but I have to manage this one like that,” he told Sunday PUNCH.

According to Chibiike Ignatius, the more he tries to save up to buy a small car of his choice, the more the price goes up.

“It’s like I will save my money, because the more I save to buy the vehicle, the more the price goes up,” he stated.

A document obtained from the Customs showed that a total of 117,830 vehicles used vehicles were imported into the country in the first quarter of 2021, while 97,132 vehicles were imported in the same period of 2022. The steady decline was witnessed in the first quarter of this year as a total of 51,782 Tokunbo vehicles were imported.


On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu, signed four Executive Orders deferring and suspending the commencement of certain taxes paid by individuals and companies in the country with the aim of reducing the tax burden.

According to his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, the President signed the Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, 2023, which deferred the commencement date of the changes contained in the Act from May 23, 2023 to September 1, 2023.

He also signed the Customs, Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order, 2023 shifting the commencement date of the tax changes from March 27, 2023 to August 1, 2023 in line with the National Tax Policy.

The President also gave an order suspending the five per cent Excise Tax on telecommunication services, as well as excise duties’ escalation on locally manufactured products. He also ordered the suspension of the Import Tax Adjustment Levy on certain vehicles.

But reacting to the Executive Order concerning importation of vehicles, Amiwero said it would likely lead to an increase in the importation of vehicles by about 15 per cent.

“You know the exchange rate has been affected. So, the boost on car importation won’t be much; we are looking at between 10 per cent and 15 per cent. Because you know that the exchange rate will actually reduce some of the gains. So, we are looking at a 10 per cent to 15 per cent increase in vehicles coming into the country,” he explained.

Source:https://punchng.com/tokunbo-vehicle-sales-drop-by-70-buyers-opt-for-nigerian-used-cars/

Ejikeme Mmesoma, the 19-year-old student of Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, Anambra State, has narrated how she manipulated her result.

Messoma has been in the news since the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) punctured her claim of being the highest scorer in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB had said she scored 249 in the examination as against the 362 which she claimed, but the candidate released a video where she stood her ground.

This had triggered a huge controversy. Amid the back and forth, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra set up a committee to investigate the issue.
But few days into the sitting of the eight-man panel of inquiry, Mmesoma appeared on a television programme where she backed down on her claim of scoring 362.

In its report, the panel indicted the candidate and asked her to tender an apology to JAMB.
According to the report of the panel, Mmseoma was summoned alongside JAMB officials and those of the school Mmesoma attended.

“Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.

“She owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired. She also admitted to have given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using same phone Airtel Number.

“The Principal, Anglican Girls’ Secondary School — Mrs Edu Uche and the Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.

“According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafe (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated,” the report read.

The report indicated that the candidate was well informed of her correct score, listing the multiple attempts she made to manipulate it.

“The result paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 362 is fake as buttressed by the very significant and instructive variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name and other infractions.

“JAMB officials led by Dr Fabian Benjamin, the Head of Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what specifically transpired between the candidate Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with registration number: 20230639047FF in her quest to obtain her JAMB score.

“JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to the JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidate’s UTME Results to Wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249.

“JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score. Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of an aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249.”

Source: https://dailytrust.com/how-my-utme-result-was-forged-mmesoma-makes-fresh-revealations/

As the impact of fuel subsidy removal bites harder across different sectors of the country’s economy, automobile mechanics in Kano State are now devising other means of survival, lamenting how the development has brought about low patronage in their services. Some mechanics who spoke to Daily Trust Saturday in Kano metropolis disclosed that the policy change, which pushed the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) used by most private and commercial vehicles to the roof top has drastically decimated the number of vehicles that used to visit their workshops daily for services, which has taken its toll on their revenue base.

Adams Abdurrahman, a mechanic who operates a car workshop at Lawal Dambazau junction in Kano, revealed that fewer vehicles make their way to his garage, which makes them less engaged currently.

He disclosed that some of his apprentices had absconded from work due to his inability to adequately remunerate them for feeding and transport.
“Fuel subsidy removal has significantly affected our work. On average, my boys and I used to attend to 15 cars in a day, but now, we hardly get more than four vehicles to work on in a day.
“I have 10 apprentices working under me directly, but because it is fewer works that we do now unlike in the past prior to the fuel hike, only two of them come to work regularly now. The reason is that what I give them daily to feed and pay for their transport fare isn’t enough for them and this is one of the effects of the fuel subsidy removal on us. I allow them to be flexible,” he said.

Another mechanic, Mikail Yusuf, said their workshop in the Rimin Gata area remained less busy compared to a few weeks ago when petroleum product was cheaper and vehicles were on the roads.

According to Yusuf, their work site now operates marginally due to poor patronage from clients.

“There is drastic reduction in the number of vehicles we used to attend to earlier before the removal. As you can see, we were sitting down when you came in but that didn’t happen before. Prior to this moment, as soon as you deviated from the main road you would see cars parked everywhere here.

“Most of our customers have now parked their vehicles, they don’t drive often now. On the average, we used to work on 20 vehicles a day, but now, everything is dry. It is God that sustains us now. We have mechanics and panel beaters but we are all waiting to see what God would do,” he said.

Saifullaihi Ruwaya, a mechanic in Rimin Gata workshop, said some clients pressurised them to devise a means of reducing fuel consumption in their cars.

Ruwaya recalled, “Due to this problem, people will come to us and say that their vehicles are consuming fuel too much, so what can we do to minimise fuel usage in cars? But I think that is wrong. Fuel consumption is the same although we do some connection that reduces fuel consumption a bit for some type of vehicles not every car. It is the car wiring that we make some changes in it to reduce.”

Abdulfatai Jamiu, who repairs cars around Maganda Road in the state metropolis, explained, “If fuel is sold at N200, majority of car owners do not have a problem putting their vehicles on the road, and as a mechanic you don’t even need to pray for anyone’s vehicle to have a problem to be able to feed.

“Naturally, with the way automobiles are made, the wear and tear that comes with everyday usage is enough for people to regularly bring their vehicles to our workshop. But now, I have customers that told me they have packed their vehicles at home and are now using commercial tricycles to go about in the city.
“In a typical garage (workshop) you have more than three professionals, all hoping for a vehicle to be brought in. For instance, I am a mechanic, I work on Toyota and Honda cars, but we also have electricians and panel beaters, all in this place and all of us are suffering,” he said.

He said he had started considering leaving the profession for commercial driving but that his friend, who commutes the Kano-Abuja highway, discouraged him.

“My friend told me that even they (drivers) are finding things difficult because travellers have reduced. You know transport fare has more than doubled because of this same problem. In fact, I met my friend sleeping at home when normally he would have gone to Abuja and return the same day,” he said.

Another mechanic in the ancient city who was identified simply as Umar Mechanic, said he observed that vehicular movement had drastically reduced as many of his clients park their cars to minimise the cost of fuel.
“Some of our clients who possess three to four cars now use one, or at most, two for daily movement and dropping and picking up children from school. And that affects our activities here. If there was less work, we would have like 10 vehicles for big and small work. But now, 4, 3, or even 1 car a day are brought,” he said.

Friday John, who works at Hygrade Autocare at the Bakar Lamba area, said they used to work actively from morning to evening, but that is no longer the case.

“There were considerable number of vehicles coming here prior to the removal of fuel subsidy, but currently, as you can see, there is virtually no work, which is a quite different reality from what is used to be. Even if I can’t give you a specific number of vehicles per day, I do know that we worked from morning till evening. Today isn’t like that. We receive one or two a day now,” he said.

A private car owner, Kabir Ammani, said the fuel subsidy removal necessitated to suspend using his car and prefers his motorcycle due to fuel and other needs.

“I used to fill my tank with about N15,000, now it will take me almost N40,000 to do this and because of my daily routine, a full tank barely lasts more than a week. So, imagine how much I will be spending on fuelling my car in a month at this rate. This is why I parked the car and I am now using my motorcycle, and with just about N2,000 I will have a full tank. My car mechanic will have to bear with me because before he sees me in his workshop, it will take a very long time,” another car owner said.

Another resident and car owner, Bala Kwaciri, explained that he minimised movement with his car, which invariably reduces his possibility of going to mechanics.

“I deliberately reduced using my car when running errands. I use it mostly for dropping and picking up my kids from school; for all other things I use a motorcycle. That means going to the workshop for services and repairs less.

The mechanics further decried that their businesses halting at the moment is a great challenge to them, considering the harsh economic situation of the country. They appealed on the relevant authorities to have them in mind when thinking of how to ameliorate the suffering the fuel subsidy removal has brought on the people.

Source:https://dailytrust.com/mechanics-decry-low-patronage-as-motorists-abandon-vehicles/

Qatar to construct an Economic City and Mass Housing projects in Kaduna State. The Land allocation is completed and Construction is set to commence soon.

Source: https://twitter.com/umarzubyr/status/1677359296894435329?s=48&t=sbF2NXQL_5y8fvisRYX1Aw

A Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Babafemi Badejo, has said though former President Muhammadu Buhari failed woefully in the fight against corruption, his successor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will be worse.

Badejo stated this while delivering the first inaugural lecture of Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, titled: “Interests.”

He submitted that Tinubu, judging from his actions in the last one month, would do by far than Buhari in other areas, but not in the fight against corruption.

“It is my own view that former President Muhammadu Buhari failed woefully on the issue of anti-corruption. He did start by wanting to implement the UN anti-corruption’s strategy and went further to appoint a committee and that committee did nothing till today.”

“On President Tinubu, it is too early to give a conclusion, but I can say that from what he has done in one month, he will do by far better than Buhari, but not on corruption.

“He (Tinubu) has not been talking about corruption, but all he has been saying is that he is going to make sure that make judges are comfortable, make everybody comfortable, but no country around the world can be comfortable by staying very far away from fighting corruption. Maybe he will change his mind later on corruption. I wish him well.”

The inaugural lecturer lamented that, Nigerians had been making corruption to thrive by being “too docile and tolerant of corruption for too long.”

He said “Successive administrations, including that of President Buhari, have not faced corruption frontally with the full force of a political will that goes beyond mere lip service.
“Though possibly a hasty conclusion, I do not think the objective realities would allow President Tinubu to do any better, even if he ever wanted to fight corruption. The resultant outcome is unfruitful half-heartedly done prosecutorial gimmicks and noise, cherry-picking and selective haphazard trials.

There is need to ensure that in dealing with corruption, no one is immune or beyond the reach of the laws, by virtue of whatever relationships or status. This is indeed very important as part of steps by the President and those in top leadership positions, to begin to demonstrate their commitment to the anti-corruption war, through their personal examples of zero tolerance for corruption.”

Source: https://dailytrust.com/anti-graft-war-tinubu-will-be-worse-than-buhari-says-prof-badejo/

The cost of air travel for Nigerians continues to surge, with average ticket prices witnessing a significant 34.06% increase over the past year.

According to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics, airfare rose from N55,906.86 in May 2022 to N74,948.78 in May 2023.

Meanwhile, commuter bus fares also experienced an 11.66% uptick during the same period. These escalating transportation expenses pose challenges for Nigerian travellers and commuters.
Transport fare
NBS stated that it transports data covers bus journey within the city per drop constant route; bus journey intercity (state route) charge per person; air fare charge for specified routes single journey; journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop; and water way passenger transport, they added:

“The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 0.23% in May 2023 when N649.59 was recorded relative to N648.12 in April 2023. On a year-on-year basis, the average fare paid rose by 11.66% from N581.79 in May 2022.
“In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop in May 2023 was N4,002.16, indicating an increase of 0.19% on a month-on-month basis compared to the N3,994.51 recorded in April 2023. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 9.09% from N3,668.64 in May 2022. “
Air Travel
For airfares, NBS noted that the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes and single journeys increased by 0.002% on a month-on-month basis from N74,947.30 in April 2023 to N74,948.78 in May 2023.

“On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 34.06% from N55,906.86 in May 2022. The average fare paid on Okada transportation in May 2023 was N464.55, a 0.49% increase from the rate recorded in April 2023 (N462.29).”
They added that okada fares rose by 11.30% when compared with the value in May 2022 which was N417.39.

Source:https://nairametrics.com/2023/07/05/air-ticket-prices-rise-by-34-06-in-one-year-for-nigerians-nbs/

The worst is yet to come

To reduce the high cost of living caused by fuel subsidy removal, the Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, on Tuesday, released 80 vehicles for free transportation of farmers from their communities to farmlands.

The 80 vehicles comprise 50 luxury buses to be allocated from the fleet of the Borno Express Corporation, the state-owned transport company, while the 30 pick-up vans will be hired by the state government.

“We are here purposely to support the farmers, you can see thousands of them have gathered and their numbers can reach up to 100,000.

“Therefore, Borno State Government has decided to provide 50 buses (and 30 pick-up vans) to convey farmers to their farmlands this rainy season,” Zulum said in Maiduguri.
Governor Zulum while addressing thousands of farmers, urged them to cooperate with soldiers, police, and other security agencies deployed to roads to protect citizens including farmers who go to the outskirts to access their farmlands.

“I want to urge you (farmers) to give maximum support and cooperation to the Nigerian Military. They (soldiers) are here to protect you,” Zulum said.

The governor expressed gratitude to the military for their sacrifices in protecting Borno’s people which is now enabling farming activities across the state.

Source:https://punchng.com/subsidy-removal-borno-releases-80-vehicles-to-ease-farmers-movement/

Monday, July 3, was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to data from the United States National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

T[b]he average global temperature reached 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 degrees Fahrenheit), surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C (62.46F) as summer heats up across the Northern Hemisphere.[/b]

Currently, the highest officially registered temperature is 56.7C (134F), recorded in California’s Death Valley back in 1913. The hottest known temperature in Africa is 55C (131F), recorded in Kebili, Tunisia in 1931. Iran holds the record for Asia’s hottest official temperature of 54C (129F), which it recorded in 2017.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48.8C (119.8F) on the Italian island of Sicily on August 11, 2021. On July 19, 2022, The United Kingdom recorded its highest-ever temperature, reaching 40.2C (104.4F), according to its Meteorological Office.

In 2020, Seymour Island in Antarctica recorded a maximum temperature of 20.7C (69.3F). According to the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO), temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula have risen by nearly 3C (5.4F) over the past 50 years.

The map below shows the hottest temperatures ever recorded in each country around the world. At least 22 countries have recorded maximum temperatures of 50C (122F) or above.

Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/5/what-is-the-highest-temperature-ever-recorded-in-your-country-2

I wish the government can set a side a National day of tree planting in Nigeria. Government-led tree planting initiatives are beneficial for multiple reasons. They enhance air quality by absorbing pollutants and releasing oxygen, leading to healthier environments. Tree planting also aids in mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide and reducing the heat island effect in urban areas. Additionally, it supports biodiversity, providing habitats for various species and preserving ecosystems.

The outcome of this sit a home will be felt for generations.
Investors will be hesitant to invest in a place that is insecure, denying people jobs and creating dependence on the state government
Children are missing out on a day of schooling which will hamper their education compared to other areas in the country.
Business will make less money as they won't be open for 5 days in a week.

At the end of the day, this affects Chinedu in Ebonyi rather than Bola & Ahmed who live in Lagos or Kano respectively

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has expressed satisfaction with progress of work at the site of construction of a lithium factory owned by a Chinese firm, Landmark Lithium Mining Company in Nasarawa Local Government Area.

Briefing journalists immediately after inspecting the constitution site at Nasarawa Local Government Area, the Governor expressed confidence that the lithium factory estimated to cost one hundred million USD, with 3000 tones of lithium expected to be produced per day, will give a boost to the industrialization drive of his administration.

Gov. Sule said: “Lithium is one of the most attractive and most expensive minerals that is being traded in the world market today. In fact, it has risen over ten times its price today. Lithium is what people are using to produce batteries, either solar batteries or even the battery you have in your car. It has been mentioned over time that Nasarawa State is one of the states with the highest quantity of lithium in the North Central part of Nigeria.

“There is also lithium in Kwara, Niger, and Kogi, but Nasarawa State has been so lucky to have the largest commercial quantity.”

He added that it is a dream come true for his administration’s industrialization drive having encouraged the Chinese company to not only start mining lithium but to construct a factory and to pursue the value chain addition by producing finished products at the factory rather than taking the raw lithium out of the state.

“They have only about 50 Chinese working here and about 500 local Nigerians that are working here. That is ten times the number of Chinese people who are working here,” He added.

Source: https://dailytrust.com/gov-sule-inspects-of-3000-tones-per-day-lithium-factory/

“Once you start doing business and the business starts doing well, rather than for you to keep investing into the business, you start spending money and thinking that the profit will continue to come. There are ups and downs in business so you need to be very focused and say ‘Okay fine what do you do and how to do those things.”

The reason a lot of Nigerian businesses fail is due to the above. We are so eager to start spending wealth lavishly when money starts to come in rather than reinvest the money into business and letting the business grow.

Another reason why businesses fail in Nigeria is that family members run most of them. It is better to give your family shares in the business than to have them run it for you. Get someone independent.

Africa’s richest man has revealed that while some of his staff have houses abroad which they use as holiday homes, he has none. The business mogul further gave some tips in order to succeed as a person in the business space.

In an interview conducted by Business Insider Africa and published recently on the Tonyelumelufoundation’s verified Instagram account, Dangote said, “A lot of people even the younger ones, we need to be very careful because one of the biggest issues. With us Africans, it is that we spend our projected incomes.

“Once you start doing business and the business starts doing well, rather than for you to keep investing into the business, you start spending money and thinking that the profit will continue to come. There are ups and downs in business so you need to be very focused and say ‘Okay fine what do you do and how to do those things.”
The businessman further advised that acquiring luxurious things could be a distraction. Citing himself as an example, Dangote stated, “Luxury things — they also take up your time which will not make you focus on your business. I mean, I don’t have any holiday home anywhere; I don’t have a house anywhere but I know people who are working for me, they have a house in London. But I don’t.”

Source: https://dailytrust.com/people-working-for-me-have-houses-abroad-but-i-dont-dangote/

Gov. Abba Yusuf of Kano State says the first batch of foreign scholarship policy will commence academic activities in various universities by September.

This is contained in a statement issued by his Acting Press Secretary, Mr Hisham Habib, in Kano on Saturday.Yusuf announced this at the Government House while receiving the Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, and members of the emirate council during a Sallah homage.

The governor restated the commitment of his administration to prioritising the education sector.He also revealed that arrangements have been concluded to reopen the 20 institutes closed down by the immediate past administration.

Yusuf thanked the emir and appreciated the role of traditional rulers as custodians of culture and propagators of peace, stability and progress.

Earlier, Emir Bayero called for the provision of fertiliser to farmers at subsidised rate, revitalise tree plantation campaigns and water supply in the state.

He also called on the state government to provide an enabling environment for more investors for the development of the state. (NAN)

Source:https://dailytrust.com/first-batch-of-foreign-scholarship-students-depart-september-kano-gov/

.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Sunday said it would withdraw the result of a certain Ejikeme Mmesoma for manually inflating her result and announcing herself as the top scorer for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

According to a statement issued by the board, Ejikeme used her manually inflated score to attract a N3 million scholarship from Innoson Motors and was set to be honnoured by the Anambra State government before she was exposed.

“The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media celebrating certain candidates for being high scorers in the 2023 UTME.

“The Board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake. In many instances, some of these candidates had actually obtained far lower scores than they are claiming and had used some funny software packages to manipulate their results to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
“The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded a N3m scholarship by Chief (Dr.) Innocent Chukwuma. She was even set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim, only for the Board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had actually scored 249 and not the 362 she claimed. She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public to fraudulently obtain scholarships and other recognitions.”
Also speaking in the statement, the board noted that it also identified the case of another fraudulent candidate who claimed to have scored a 380 aggregate score in the last UTME.
“A similar case was that of one Atung Gerald in Kaduna, who claimed to have scored 380. His ethnic group had taken the issue up, requesting that he be given special recognition, only for the Board to disappoint them with the incontestable fact that Atung never obtained the 2023 UTME application documents, not to talk of sitting the examination.

“The Board would, therefore, want to advise the public to always cross check these claims by candidates with the Board before rushing to honour them with undeserving awards, as certain software has been created to fake their version of their results and put same out in the public space for fun, and this is what the sponsors of these candidates are using to defraud good-spirited Nigerians such as Dr. Innocent, the founder of Innoson Motors, who sincerely desires to celebrate academic excellence by investing in the education of a young Nigerian.”
Speaking on the punishment for Ejikeme, the board noted that it would withdraw her result and also prosecute her.

“We commended the likes of Dr. Innocent Chukwuma and wish to encourage other Nigerians, who desire to invest in the future of genuine youngsters, never to be discouraged but to always ensure that they get the authentic results from the Board as done by the Anambra State Ministry of Education; otherwise they will be celebrating criminality as this is just another new fraudulent method in town. However, these candidates only succeed in manipulating what they are holding, as the authentic results are with the Board and would be transmitted to their schools of choice at the appropriate time.

“It is to be noted that Miss Mmesoma had sent a message to the Board’s platform to request her UTME result, after which she manually inflated her scores and pasted same on the 2022 UTME result sheet. Unknown to her, the Board had changed the design of the 2023 UTME result sheet. Her original result remains 249, as nothing can change that. With this her ignoble act, Miss Mmesoma would be prosecuted and her original result withdrawn. This is not all, as the Board would, in due course, investigate all candidates laying claims to higher scores than they actually obtained. Once discovered, such candidates’ original results would be withdrawn forthwith, and they would be handed over to relevant security agencies for prosecution.”

Source: https://punchng.com/just-in-anambra-pupil-celebrated-for-emerging-top-utme-scorer-faked-results-jamb/

If PDP want to make a return to power. They should field Jonathan and Bala mohammed in 2027. They will win the election easily.

Fulaninigger:
We(northerners) can vote for good leaders irrespective of tribes, but definitely not Peter Obi! Obi is not an option and will never be!

You can't sell us fraud and try to blackmail by playing tribal card. If you were serious, you could have given us Umeh, Okorocha, sullivan etc

You want us to vote a candidate that made elections a religious war?

I asked one of my female colleagues from Anambra state, why is it before PO came out for presidency, there has not been 1 person that commended him as gov? Every comment I came across SM were negative? She started stammering and trying to find foolish excuses, I had to just cut the conversation short!

You want to white-wash him and make him a saint and you expect us just to role with it because SE/Ibo said so!

tomorrow if Ikpeazu decides to contest for presidency, Ibo will eulogize him and make him the best thing since sliced bread

.

Malam, left to me zan zabe Jonathan a 2027 elections over Tinubu. If Bala Muhammed(Bauchi Governor) should decide to contest with Jonathan as his VP knowing he will take over in 2031 that's a great arraignment for the PDP.