₦airaland Forum

tunjiajayi:
250 Naira per cup real rice is better than 30 Naira per cup fake rice.

Na Obi yamree plan be that, like him people, fake ,fake , fake.
Fake drugs, fake electronics, fake textiles cheap and dangerous to health.

No to fake yamree candidate obi.

Toluwanise247:
The question that made him cry abi? …. Weak man , am even thinking if obi can perform on bed very well, I suggest DNA for him .

Majesty2:
If dem born their papa well make dem try any nonsense, they will be sacrificed to ogun

Naijanascam:
Is he talking from Ethiopia or where?

Zonefree:

Obviously

jackobi:
Is Peter Obi the only candidate? Small thing Peter Obi this, Peter Obi that. Haba!!!. Some People are having sleepless nights because of Peter Obi.
By God's grace Peter Obi is our next president.

CoolAmbience:
Tinubu is way better than Obi.

Let's judge them by their past records.

Obi is no match for Tinubu at all.

Tinubu does not have to attend any debate to prove anything.

Tareq1105:
Arise TV is PDP, their anchor men don't like Tinubu so you don't expect him to jump into a moving train. Tinubu is their topic of discussion everyday so what do you expect Tinubu to do. Recall Ruben Abati was PDP deputy Gov candidate of Ogun State in 2019 and that boy Rufai Oseni should quit journalism and join obidients.

Foreign currency dealers have complained to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, about their ordeals in the hands of operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission following the arrest of some of them.

The dealers will also send a copy of their petition to the Senate even as members of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators in the Federal Capital Territory, on Thursday and Friday met with operatives of the anti-graft agency.

The meeting was aimed at resolving the forex crisis occasioned by the rush for dollars following the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria to redesign some naira notes.

This is happening as the anti-graft agency intensified investigations into the financial transactions of the forex dealers in a bid to spot illicit activities such as money laundering.

The forensic probe of their bank accounts, it was learnt, would help detectives in tracking down the forex dealers’ sponsors and their high-profile customers, especially government officials and political officeholders.

A source told Sunday PUNCH that the essence of the EFCC raids was to identify the big men behind the BDC operators, their sources of funds, transactions and customers, and ultimately to frustrate moves by hoarders to offload their naira cash haul ahead of December 15 when the high denominations would be released to the public.

“Detectives have obtained some necessary information from the forex dealers who were arrested and a forensic analysis and probe of their financial transactions have commenced,’’ the source disclosed.


It was further learnt that the EFCC had released all the forex dealers who were arrested during the two-day raids after obtaining the necessary information from them, including their personal and bank details, and who they were working for.

The anti-graft agency had launched a massive clampdown on forex dealers across the country and arrested 87 of them in Abuja, Lagos and Kano between Tuesday and Wednesday last week, forcing the BDC operators to go into hiding.

Sunday PUNCH learnt on Friday that the BDC operators were advised by the EFCC officials during the meeting to be wary of illegal financial activities that could harm the economy.

Confirming the meeting, the Assistant Provost, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Zone 4, Wuse, Abuja, Mallam Muhammed Nera, said the group was also planning to meet with the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

He stated, “We had a meeting with the EFCC on Thursday and Friday, a meeting of understanding. They didn’t come to raid on Thursday and Friday. But we told them that if they were looking for missing money, they should start from the ministries. They should start with the Presidency, ministers, directors and others. They are just beating around the bush, they know those stealing money.

“They were asking our members who gave them the naira used in their transactions. If you think that money is missing, follow the trail from the ministries and other places. People are struggling to survive; every Bureau De Change has about 200 persons under him. They have parents, children and people working for them.”

Nera advised the detectives to follow the money trail and bank accounts instead of chasing down forex dealers struggling to survive.


He contended that the commission had no authority to order people into its vehicles without presenting warrants of arrest.

He said the EFCC had access to the bank accounts and financial transactions of every citizen, wondering why the agency was not tracking Boko Haram fighters and their financiers, and focusing on other urgent national issues.

According to him, the association has cautioned its members not to run away the next time EFCC operatives storm their offices, insisting that they are ready to confront the commission.

“We have told our people that nobody should run when we see them (EFCC operatives) and nobody should follow them (to their office) unless we ask them to do so. They are part of the government; they have the law, they know what to do. But they have to do things in a proper manner. We are ready for them, we are ready to face them not by fighting or through argument, but facing them with the law,” Nera stated.

He also disclosed that the association had petitioned the IG and would also write to the Senate and the CBN over the alleged harassment of its members by the EFCC.

He explained that the dealers had sought to meet with the CBN leadership before the latest incidents, but their request was not acknowledged, adding, “We have written letters to them over 10 times, but they didn’t acknowledge them.”

When asked why the anti-graft agency was raiding the BDC offices, the Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, pleaded for time to find out. But he had yet to provide a response as of the time of filing this report.


Different dollar rates
The naira weakened to 885 to the United States dollar on Saturday in parallel markets in Lagos.

Currency dealers, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH using only their first names, pegged the parallel market rates at N885/$1 on Saturday.

One of the BDC operators, Mallam Bala, said he was out of dollars but insisted on the N885 rate.

“I do not have dollars now. Although the rate stands at N885/$, I don’t have any to sell,” Bala stated.

Another dealer, Mustapha, said he could only sell the dollar at N890. He had quoted N880 on Friday evening.

“The price of dollar changes every minute. It can reach N950 on Monday, depending on the demand,” he said.


But he was no longer ready to sell at that rate when one of our correspondents contacted him on Saturday evening.

An operator at Zone 4, Wuse, Abuja, who gave his name simply as Umar, said the parallel rate stood at N910. He had quoted N905 on Friday.

“The price is N910 today, wallahi,” he swore.

Earlier on Friday, he had said, “I sell at N905 but buy at N900. Maybe by Monday, the rate will come down.”

Another operator within the FCT, Magaji, said the rates were between “N890 and N910 if I am selling, and N888 if I’m buying.”

At theI & E forex window, the naira hit a high of 447/$ before closing at 445.5/$ on Friday with a total of $94.07m traded in the window.

Meanwhile, the CBN maintained N440.26/$ as the official rate on its website.


Findings by Sunday PUNCH revealed that the CBN had been having meetings with the banks on the naira redesign.

Many of the banks have been sending messages to their customers to deposit their cash. The banks also disclosed that they had begun Saturday operations strictly for the purpose of taking cash deposits to create more access.

Analysts identify factors
Analysts have fingered the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent move to redesign the naira as a major factor fuelling the rising dollar rate.

The President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said there were several illegal activities going on in the market and blamed unlicensed operators as the major culprits.

He stressed the need to sanitise the market to strengthen the BDC segment of the economy.

“The licensed people are not allowed to operate in the market, which is why this is going on. It is wrong to support this kind of situation where many things are going wrong in the market. We cannot see this and support it,” he said.

Gwadabe noted that the naira was facing a war of attrition, worsened by currency substitution, speculation, politics and exclusion of the BDCs from the FX market.


Economists knock CBN

An economist at the University of Uyo, Prof Akpan Ekpo, explained that the parallel market was driven by fear, panic and uncertainty over the CBN’s plan to redesign the currency.

“I think it is very simple; the CBN’s plan to redesign the N200, N500 and N1000 is a major cause. So many people have now bought dollars with their naira and are hoarding it. So, this has further weakened the naira and that’s why we have seen a sharp rise in naira depreciation,” he stated.

Ekpo said the depreciation of the currency was different from devaluation.

He explained, “It is either they have enough quantity of the dollar to back up the naira or they make the adjustment in the official rate as I mentioned earlier.

“Besides, this is a demand and supply problem. People are buying dollars out of the system and we don’t have enough dollars. Also, there is panic and uncertainty because it is a shock.

“Those who have kept naira in their houses for years are buying dollars illegally because whatever they buy at the bureau is better than the official rate. So, they are buying dollars and keeping it so that they can take it to the bank and buy the new naira.”

He added that uncertainty would further drive the widening rates and this was worrisome as it might lead to more inflation.


“It will affect prices because the inflation we are having is exchange rate pass-through,” Ekpo noted.

A Professor of Economics at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Uche Nwogwugwu, stressed the need to restore confidence in the Nigerian economy.

He agreed with Akpan that there was a shock in the financial market as many people were not certain about so many things.

“That fear or uncertainty is what you do not need at this point in time,” he said.

lhordspy:
Emeka always hiding under a northerner moniker to throw stone.


Cowards.

Commercial drivers in Lagos State under the aegis of the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria have since Monday embarked on a warning strike and boycott of transport services across the state over extortion by the Lagos State Parks and Garages Management. The President of the association, Abiodun Akintade, discussed issues surrounding the strike with SODIQ OJUROUNGBE

Why did you embark on the strike in the first instance?

There is a court order by the Federal High Court, Ikoyi. The order has been out since June 24, 2022, banning these people (agberos) from collecting money from us on the road. The court order also banned them from harassing, intimidating, beating our conductors, and damaging our property.

The court order also said they should stop collecting any money whatsoever from us but the Lagos State Government refused to act on the court order; that is one of our grievances.


The second reason we embarked on the strike was that early this year, the Lagos State Government introduced a ticket of N800. The Lagos Commissioner for Transportation went to a radio station, telling the masses that the government had introduced the ticket and it would be the only ticket they would assume as our tax, and anybody that asked for money again should be arrested.

After the introduction of the N800 ticket, we don’t know whether by omission or commission, the Lagos State Government gave the ticketing job to the agberos. We believe that the ticket should have been given to the local government authorities, but the reason they gave it to them is left to them; our duty is to pay for the ticket.

But after collecting that N800 ticket, these agberos still harass us. For example, where I drive, after loading in their park, while going to my destination, there are 25 checkpoints on the road before I reach where I am going. And I have to drop N100 or N200 at each of these checkpoints.

After loading in their park, whatever they demand, we will give them. Like in my park, they collect three passengers’ money out of our money. Before we load, there is what we call booking money; that is N500. After loading, two to four kilometers, we will start reaching different checkpoints where we have to drop money as well.

By the time you calculate all the money altogether, it is about N6,000. And when you drop passengers, they will still collect what they call offloading money.

With the announcement by the commissioner for transportation, we were all excited that the government has now recognised our predicament and is ready to come to our aid. Unfortunately, that was not the case because they added the N800 to the expenses we incur daily. So, the problem is getting worse every day; they will just wake up one day and create a checkpoint and there is nothing we can do about it.

All these led to the protest. What we are trying to push out is that we agreed that we don’t have parks, so let’s be using their parks to load passengers. We are ready to give them whatever they want; it is negotiable but we want them to put an end to all these illegal checkpoints. We are just trying to be lenient with them because in the court order, it was stated that they should not collect any money from us again.

Why don’t you get an injunction to make them obey the court order?

We do take actions but the judiciary in this country is zero. The government that is preaching rule of law is the one not obeying the court order. They are aware of that court order but they just decided to disobey it knowing that heaven will not fall.

Do you plan to take them back to court or you have lost hope in the judiciary?


Before we can say anything on that, let’s see how our Friday’s meeting with them will go. Then, we will now organise ourselves during the weekend and see the next action to take. We are meeting them around 11am. The outcome of the Friday meeting will decide our own action.

What was the outcome of the meeting you had with the government on Thursday?

We had a meeting with the Lagos State permanent secretary under the ministry of transportation. The meeting was successful in the sense that we expressed our displeasure at the meeting and he promised to look into our predicament. But he said that since those we accused were not at the meeting, he would advise us to be there again on Friday so that we could all be there, and see how to move forward.

Before embarking on strike, what efforts did you make to reach out to the authorities?

Before we embarked on the protest, a letter was sent to governor’s office. It was sent to the Ministry for Transportation and Ministry of Justice. Last week Friday, we held a meeting with their liaison officer, a retired AIG, Akeem Odumosu.

What we have observed is that anywhere we have meetings with these agberos, they will not turn up. We reschedule Wednesday’s meeting because they did not turn up. But the PS promised they will be available on Friday.



We put that into consideration; we know our people. But mind you, our eyes are open. All they are saying are just mere propaganda. During COVID-19, we were at home for more than a month, and nobody died.

If it will take one month to liberate ourselves, so be it. We are aware some people are working; we told our members to leave them because we are law-abiding citizens.

The agberos are just trying to be funny, it is just pure propaganda, but we know what we are doing.

Do you think the government and agberos are working together to frustrate you from getting what u want?

Yes, we believe they are working together. The way the agberos terorrize and intimidate us shows that they have government backing. Government cannot say they are not aware of the atrocities committed by agberos on daily basis.

When agberos assault your drivers or conductors, do you make complaints to the police?

Yes, we have on several occasions made complaints. Some of us are bold enough to take then to police station, but if you don’t know your way, you will be the one the police will lock up, and they will ask the agberos to go and continue his work.


By the time they lock you up, you will start looking for money to get yourself and also to bail out your vehicle, while the person that committed the atrocity will be move freely.

Are you not concerned with what commuters are going through because of the strike?

We are aware of what they are going through. It is just that it is important to put ourselves first. They are our customers; we can’t do without them, but we need to put an end to this modern-day slavery.

By the time we come out and we are able to achieve our aim, the commuters will also benefit because whether you like it or not, we are going to reduce the cost of transport fares. We can’t help it, we need their support; they know what we are passing through on Lagos roads.

Everybody is afraid of confrontation, but we are ready to ensure we put an end to this modern-day slavery. The majority know how these people are treating us, we can’t continue like this.

How have your members been coping with the strike?

It has not been easy, but we are coping. We need to fight this once and for all.


They have been threatening our lives even with the boycott. On Monday, they went to Seme Park and the buses they saw there were destroyed. They also patrolled the area and any of our members they saw were picked.

What are your demands?

When we load in their garage, they collect transport fares of three passengers, we want them to reduce it to one. We want them to put an end to illegal checkpoints of agberos that extort us on the road after paying in the garage.

The only ticket we are ready to recongnise in Lagos State is the Lagos State consolidated ticket which is N800. Anything after that, we won’t accept it.

We also want them to stop intimidating and harassing us. We believe that once they go back to their garage, that one will stop.

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has said it is unperturbed by the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party calling for the disqualification of the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee and all candidates produced by the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, said there was no cause for alarm.

The PDP had called for the disqualification of the APC candidates produced by Adamu’s NWC following a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court on September 30, 2022.

The judgment declared as illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional, all actions and activities of the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, as the chairman of the Extraordinary Convention Committee of the APC.

Mr Ayo Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), who filed the suit on behalf of the opposition party, cited that the nomination that produced the candidates of the APC grossly violated the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2022.

By the request, the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, his running mate, Kashim Shettima, the governorship candidates and their deputies as well as the senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the party were among those listed for disqualification.

When contacted, a former legal adviser of the APC and Head of the Legal Directorate of the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, Babatunde Ogala, said it would be wrong for the camp of the presidential candidate to react to a suit challenging the ruling party.
“I am not aware of the suit you are talking about. If the suit is filed against APC, the party’s legal adviser should be the one to react to it,” he added.

But Keyamo, who stated that the PDP had completely run out of ideas, added that they (PDP) had consequently adopted two strategies hinged on mass disinformation and lies, hoping they could get them into power.

He said, “They want the easiest route to power by filing a laughable case in court calling to disqualify all our candidates, from presidential to governorship and senatorial, including the NWC. They think that will give them an easy walk into the Aso Rock Villa. They have a shock treatment awaiting them.

“We will meet them in court. They are merely planning to deregister the APC through the back door. We are talking about our entire party structure here. How is that done? How can you deregister a ruling party with the majority and deny Nigerians their right to choose who they want? Not through the backdoor.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, corroborated Keyamo’s position, saying that it was the opposition party’s usual antic to divert attention from their internal crisis.

He added, “Again, that’s the PDP setting itself on a phantom and vain expedition. Although I do not know that our party has been served with any such court process, just based on media reports, it is obvious the PDP is rightly convinced of its failed 2023 engagement.”