Izuchukwu70:


Gbadebo can't sing in his language.

tctrills:

That does not make you a republican.
The US also have this group of people called independents who voted democrats or republicans depending on their preference at that time.
Elon falls into this category.

Segal said the deceased was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where doctors at the neurosciences critical care unit discovered she had suffered a severe brain haemorrhage.

Facts have emerged that the Craneburg Construction firm owned by the late Mrs Chizoba Doreen Wigwe, wife of the late Dr Herbert Wigwe of Access Bank had used a loan from the bank to finance contracts across the country.

Herbert Wigwe, who was the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc, had his late wife serving on the legal board of the bank before venturing into the establishment of the Craneburg Construction in 2016.

A document obtained by SaharaReporters on Wednesday shows how Craneburg Construction Company received a loan from Access Bank to finance N50 billion contracts awarded by the Abia State government.

In one of the several letters that Access Bank wrote to the Abia State government through the Commissioner for Finance in the state, the bank stated that the Borrower was Craneburg Construction Company Ltd (CRANEBURG) while the Lender was Access Bank Plc (the Bank" or "the Lender".

The letter titled: "Consent Letter", dated October 1, 2023, states: "Further to the application from Craneburg Construction Company Limited for a credit facility and our subsequent discussions, we are pleased to inform you that the Management of Access Bank Plc (the Lender", an Institution regulated by Central Bank of Nigeria, has approved a N50 Billion term loan (facility) under the following terms and conditions:

"Borrower: Craneburg Construction Company Ltd (CRANEBURG); Lender: Access Bank Plc (the Bank" or "the Lender"; Contract Employer: Abia State Government (ABSG); Facility Type: Term Loan- Contractor Infrastructure Development Scheme (CIDS); Amount: N50,000,000,000.00 (Fifty Billion Naira Only).

"Disbursement: The facility shall be availed and disbursed only into the account of Craneburg, nominated by ABSG (Abia State Government) upon Craneburg and ABSG meeting all conditions precedent to drawdown. Every disbursement shall be authorized by ABSG.”

"Purpose: To finance the Construction of several roads awarded by the Abia State Government. Tenor: 42 (Forty-Two) months. Processing fee: 1% flat payable upfront upon acceptance of offer and pre-disbursement of the facility," the document also reads.

Meanwhile, some residents of Abia State have condemned the borrowing, insisting that the contract didn't go through the official bidding and approval process.

A source privy to happenings in the state government said it was not approved by the state House of Assembly.

The source said "the N50 billion heist called borrowing from Access Bank has no specific road mentioned to be used for it, rather by implication Craneburg Construction Company will determine how many roads will consume our N50 billion.

"This is fraudulent, if there was a House of Assembly; just like Chuba Okadigbo, the House should have summoned Otti and issued an impeachment notice if he failed to offer a logical explanation concerning these unnecessary loans”.

Efforts to reach the state information commissioner, Okey Kanu and Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otti, Kazie Uko, for comments and clarifications failed. They did not answer calls and also did not reply to the text messages sent to them.

Thankfully, we have been able to crack emergency response service in Edo State. The Edo Emergency Medical Services (EdoEMS) is integrated with our emergency response system with toll free numbers 112 and 739 linked to the Solomon Arase Command and Control Centre in the State to enable residents to get medical services within a space of ten minutes.

As we kick-start the pilot phase of the EdoEMS programme, 200 Community-Based First Responders (CBFR) are to be trained in the next one week.

I am proud to be the first trained responder! We must care for our people and care for each other.

The exchange rate between the naira and the dollar strengthened for the third consecutive day, closing at N1,534.9/$1 on the official market. This marks the strongest level the naira has reached in 7 days.

The official NAFEX rate, which serves as the average rate and benchmark rate used by the CBN, was quoted at N1,567.65 on March 1st, 2024.

The intra-day high reached N1,600/$1, while the intra-day low was N1,425/$1.

The official exchange rate has remained below N1,600 since February 28th, indicating a gradual return to stability in the official market.

Why the Naira is gaining
Checks from Nairametrics reveal that the exchange rate last traded above N1,600/$1 on February 28th, when it sold for N1,609.51/$1.

Since then, it has sold for N1,595.11 and N1,548.25 on February 29th and March 1st, respectively, establishing a trend that should reassure policymakers.

The official exchange rate fell to N1,615.94/$1 as the central bank intensified its efforts to combat inflation.

- The apex bank raised its benchmark monetary policy rate to 22.75%, sold over N3 trillion in Treasury Bills and OMO bills combined, and also introduced new guidelines for the operation of BDCs.
- It commenced the sale of forex to BDC operators while also banning over 4,000 operators for failing to meet its licensing requirements.
- CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso also hosted a virtual event with foreign portfolio investors, continuing to advocate for hot money inflows.
- The apex bank also clamped down on the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance, collaborating with security agencies to restrict their operations.
- While it is unclear if these actions are the reasons for the strengthening exchange rate, analysts suggest that a market equilibrium may be emerging.

Forex turnover in the last three days of trading has improved, averaging $250 million per day, up from $160 million per day a week earlier.

- Despite these improvements in the official market, the exchange rate on the parallel market was quoted at around N1,600/$1, according to information obtained from a cross-section of parallel market operators.
- Operators report an increase in demand at the beginning of the week, as more Nigerians looked to buy than sell.
- Nevertheless, this marks a significant improvement from the record low of N1,880 recorded on February 22nd.

Former British Council Director in Abuja, David Roberts, said Nigeria’s economy which posted a GDP growth of 3.46% in Quarter 4, cannot be said to be in a mess.

Roberts said Nigeria should improve its regulatory institutions, including measures to counter corruption in the face of the current economic reality.

In a statement, Roberts said Nigeria has good policies in place and should take steps to build confidence in its capacity to regulate and renew efforts to identify and stamp out corrupt practices.

He said: “I lived and worked in Nigeria for many years as a British diplomat and one of the issues that most disturbed me was the sustenance of the fuel subsidy regime.

“Why would a country with a severe infrastructural deficit invest more money on a wasteful expenditure such as cheap petrol, instead of building schools, hospitals, dams and a national railway system? It is evident that it had to go.

“We joined the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in saying as much to the Nigerian government. And at long last, it is gone.

"And everything we said that would happen after it goes is happening. Nigeria’s GDP is growing at 3.46 per cent while Europe is on the edge of recession.

“Her stock market just crossed 100,000 basis points, overtaking Argentina’s as the world’s most profitable stock market. And capital importation is up by 66 per cent.

“But that is not the best story. The cherry on the cake is that fuel importation into Nigeria is down 50 per cent. This means that Nigeria’s much-depleted federation account will rapidly be resuscitated.

More funds will trickle down to the federating states from the Federal Government, and if well utilised, Nigeria could attain her pre-2015 growth levels.

“The future looks bright for Nigeria if her government can stay the course and resist the pressure to reverse the fuel subsidy removal and the flotation of the Naira.

“Nigeria’s economy is not a mess. There is nothing messy about 3.46 per cent growth. If attaining such growth was easy, then we would have that level of GDP development in Europe. But we don’t.”

"The only thing I would say is that Nigeria must improve its regulatory institutions, including measures to counter corruption.”

“If I were an investor and observed that the former head of the Nigerian Communications Commission is now the Chairman of the board of MTN, and sitting with him on that board was the former head of Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service and the former Minister of Communication Technology, along with a host of former top regulatory quango bosses, I would have concerns.

“If Nigeria can fix this, I do not see how the country will not benefit from a high influx of foreign capital.

“Money is attracted to domiciles with good policies and sound regulations.

“Right now, Nigeria has the policy. All it needs is to take steps to build confidence in its capacity to regulate and renew efforts to identify and stamp out corrupt practices.”

faceland:


Mumu is seeking foreign investors then taxing foreign experts to run away. Can he go to UNILAG and trust any of their doctors or engineers with his life? Who would give us experience. You know he intend to pocket everything eventually.

SoNature:
If you cannot pay the fine, then employ Nigerians. Nigeiran companies should only hire expatriates for jobs Nigerians cannot do.

If you have over 133 million able-bodied people living in multidimensional poverty in a country of 225 million people, it's enough to declare a state of emergency across all industries.

seunmsg:
If you can’t pay, don’t bring in expatriate. It is that simple.

1. Disheartening that @PeterObi wants to make himself a disinformation agent by all means. Distorting narratives, omitting crucial info, ignoring solutions.

2. The WFP statement clearly says it’s a UN humanitarian intervention specifically for North East Nigeria. (SCREENSHOT 1), which as you might know, is slowly emerging from a devastating insurgency (Thank you to the Nigerian Armed Forces etc for degrading BH and ISWAP).

3. So, that grain is going directly to the most vulnerable people IN THE NORTH EAST. And the UN has been involved in humanitarian assistance in that region for many years now. It’s not new.

4. The same UN and other parties provided substantial assistance to Anambra State after the devastating 2012 flooding - so I’m sure you, Mr Peter Obi, know what “humanitarian intervention” means. You were Governor then. (SCREENSHOTS 2 and 3)

5. Have a sit down with your Twitter handlers, endeavor to Google before posting, and stop playing ignorant politics with everything.

6. At the same time as this donation is happening, Nigeria is getting set to harvest dry season wheat that was farmed in Nov 2023, in a program supported by the AfDB. (SCREENSHOT 4)

7. It’s still early days, and there’s a long way to go, but if you want to talk about food security in Nigeria, and you cannot acknowledge the increasing focus on domestic wheat (and other grains) cultivation, then you’re merely a malicious political actor, seeking cheap attention on social media.

8. Also, Google “Grain from Ukraine” Initiative to better educate yourself. mfa.gov.ua/en/grain-ukrai… Ukraine has historically been one of the world’s biggest grain exporters, and this thankfully manages to defy the Russian invasion. Are there lessons Nigeria can learn? Most definitely! Is Nigeria making efforts to grow more grain? Most definitely! Thank you AfDB and other partners.

ITbomb:
So when they pay the fine, will they be allowed to continue the P2P?
Who will enforce the fine?
Shouldn't it be a court ruling?

Kukutenla:

So which route was LAMATA plying then

Kukutenla:

It was Ambode who brought the idea of intermodal transport and built the first bus stations

Kukutenla:

LAMATA only existed on paper while Tinubu was gov
Hypocrite like you will accuse Jonathan of building 2nd Niger bridge on a billboard
Ambode built the bus stations as first phase of the intermodal system