₦airaland Forum

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace Airlines, Mr. Allen Onyema, yesterday, disclosed that the airline was planning to begin flights to New York and Houston by the end of 2024.

Onyema, who was a guest on ‘The Morning Show’ on ARISE News Channel, spoke on the backdrop of the airline’s Lagos- London route launch.

He stated that the company was in the process of purchasing more aircraft for this purpose.

According to him, “Air Peace is ready and prepared to take on more flights. Already, there are seven Air Peace flights going into Gatwick Airport from Nigeria daily.

“Nigeria has a balance of about 14 to do. We are ready, if the government gives us Abuja-London, I will do it, because we are expecting more aircraft into the country purchased by Air Peace. If we get it, we will do it.”

The airline, he added, was planning to hit New York or Houston towards the end of the year, as it was working on bringing in more 777s.

“As I speak to you, my staff are in California, the engineering technical services department, are in California inspecting some three 777s we want to acquire and buy. So, if we could get them in the next two or three months, then of course, we are good to go anywhere,” he added.

Onyema, however, emphasised on some of the challenges faced by his airline in trying to achieve the long-awaited Lagos-London flights.

He said: “You suffer what I call both internal and external conspiracies. It took us seven years. We got the designation I think about six and a half years ago to go into London. Since then, it has been cat-and-mouse game.

“We actually procured our three 777s because of this route, not for any other route. However, we were not allowed to go.

“Whether you like it or not, there is what is called international aero politics which is very dirty. We applied for the TCO. TCO means Technical Country Operators permit, you must get that one before you start going into any European country, UK inclusive. “And the TCO organisation from Europe wrote our Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Do you know Air Peace? Do you know about their designation? And we were denied. My own country denied us, so they threw it back.”

Onyema, called for the support of the federal government for Nigerian airlines saying, “In our own country, what we are pleading; I like when you said support, the ease of doing business, let them even do that for the indigenous airlines and see us blossom, instead of badmouthing these airlines that pass through all manner of problems.”

Crude oil prices, on Monday, increased to a five-month high.

Brent crude increased by 0.56 percent to $87.54 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.79 percent, to $83.83 percent, at 20.00 WAT.

Consequently, the development puts both crude benchmarks on track for their highest closes since October 27, 2023.

This is above the $77.96 per barrel the federal government benchmarked as oil price in the 2024 budget.

It is also higher than the $65 per barrel used by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to calculate the allocated (90,000 barrels) crude in the $3.3 billion crude-for-cash loan agreement with African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

NNPC, in a statement on January 21, had said if “oil prices rise, more money will come in from selling the 90,000 barrels, allowing for faster repayment. However, if oil prices fall, the repayment may be slower”.

“The quantity of crude earmarked (90,000 barrels) is sized to ensure enough cash is available for the repayment of the facility when it is due,” NNPC said.

“This also ensures that NNPC Limited can meet other cash flow obligations, considering the expected future price of crude oil globally.”

NNPC said oil prices are highly unpredictable, meaning prices can fluctuate within any given period.

Meanwhile, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), on March 13, said Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production dropped to 1.32 million barrels per day (bpd) in February.

However, OPEC’s secondary sources put Nigeria’s crude production at 1.476 million bpd — a 3.29 percent uptick from the 1.429 million bpd reported by the oil cartel in January this year.

https://gazettengr.com/wp-content/uploads/Looting.pngResidents looting a food truck in Ondo [Credit; Platform Times]


Residents of Akure, Ondo state capital, on Monday, engaged in widespread looting of food items and grains conveyed by a truck into the state, Peoples Gazette can report.

The truck was overpowered after it developed a mechanical fault at one of the popular junctions known as the cultural centre along the Ondo express road.

The Gazette learnt that the fully loaded truck was conveying food items in the cartoons branded in President Bola Tinubu’s name.

Several witnesses who confirmed the development said those who attacked the truck and also looted its contents included petty traders, artisans, drivers and commercial motorcyclists.

“How they got to know the content still surprised me. The truck developed a mechanical fault and before we knew it the residents forced it open.

“They began to bring out the items in the pack which are mostly grains like rice and garri branded in President Tinubu’s blue colour, name and logo,” a witness said.

However, remnants of the food items were observed on the roadside in footage circulated on Monday night.

A social commentator, Ibidapo Adelusi, immediately condemned the action of the residents, saying the police should go after the perpetrators.

“We know there’s hunger and hardship in the land but this is a crime against fellow humans. The police should not hesitate to fish out these thieves,” Mr Adelusi said.

The spokesperson for the police in Ondo, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, could not be immediately reached for comments when contacted by The Gazette.

A message seeking reaction was yet to be delivered as of the time of filing in this report.

Mrs Yuki Gambaryan, wife of one of the Binance executives detained by the Nigerian government, Tigran Gambaryan, has called on the United States' government for intervention on her husband’s continued detention in Nigeria.

Yuki made the call through the US Senator, Cory Booker, and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who led a delegation to President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday at the State House.

In a statement made available to journalists, she said, “For more than 30 days, the Nigerian government held my husband without charging him with any crime.

“Then, they charged him with being responsible for the unsubstantiated actions of his employer rather than having negotiations with the company in a manner in line with international norms.

“Simply put, my husband is being held as blackmail. As these members of Congress are travelling across Nigeria, I am calling on them to push the Nigerians to release Tigran and continue their investigation directly with Binance through appropriate channels.”

SaharaReporters had reported that Gambaryan sued the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the alleged violation of his fundamental rights.

Gambaryan in the originating motion dated and filed on March 18 by his lawyer, Olujoke Aliyu, from Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, sought five reliefs before Justice Inyang Ekwo.

Also, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager who escaped from lawful custody on March 22, filed a separate right enforcement suit before Justice Ekwo.

SaharaReporters had also reported that the Office of the NSA had confirmed the escape of one of the detained executives of Binance, Nadeem Anjarwalla from custody.

In February, Gambaryan, a US citizen and the head of financial crime compliance at Binance, and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, who has escaped from custody, were detained by the Nigerian government for financial and other related offences.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun states recorded the highest costs of a healthy diet (CoHD) per adult a day at N1295, N1195, and N1184 respectively.

The National Average, CoHD stated, per adult a day stood at N938 in February, 2024, according to the report.

The NBS revealed this in its CoHD report released on Friday in Abuja, noting that the average CoHD was highest in the South-West at N1157 per adult per day, followed by the South- East region at N1077 per day.

The NBS also said that in February, the lowest average CoHD was recorded in the North-West region at N723 per adult per day, according to the News Agency Of Nigeria.

The bureau said Katsina recorded the lowest CoHD at N673, followed by Sokoto and Zamfara at N714 and N720, respectively.

The bureau said the CoHD was the least expensive combination of locally available items that met globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.

It said it was used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets.

“This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.”

The bureau said that to compute the CoHD indicator, the following data on Retail Food Prices, Food Composition Data, and Healthy Diet Standard were required.

The report added that animal-source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in February, accounting for 38 per cent of the total CoHD to provide 13 per cent of the total calories.

It noted that fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie.

“They accounted for 12 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively, of the total CoHD while providing only seven per cent and five per cent of total calories in the Healthy Diet Basket.

“Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at six per cent of the total cost.’’

The report also says that in recent months, the CoHD had risen faster than general inflation and food inflation.

“However, the CoHD and the food Consumer Price Index (CPI) are not directly comparable.

“The CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index.

“The food CPI increased approximately by four per cent between January and February, while CoHD increased by nine per cent.’’

The NBS said the policy implications of these results would foster collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders, such as policymakers, researchers and civil society actors that focus on food security.

“These stakeholders will devise strategies that tackle access, availability, and affordability of healthy diet effectively.

“Also future research incorporating income can also be used to determine the proportion and number of the population that are unable to afford a healthy diet,” the report said.

Going by the new capital requirements released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for commercial, non-interest and merchant banks on Thursday night, 25 banks operating in Nigeria would need to raise not less than N3.894 trillion in fresh capital to meet up with the new minimum capital base.

This is as the apex bank have been cautioned to watch out for inflows of illicit funds that may be directed towards the capitalisation bid of the banks.

Having mentioned late last year at the Bankers Dinner in Lagos that the apex bank would beworking on a recapitalisation bid for the banking industry to cater to the $1 trillion economy that is being targeted by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led government, the Dr Olayemi Cardoso-led CBN made good its word with a steep increase in the required capital base for commercial, non interest and merchant banks in the country.

According to the new requirement, commercial banks with international licenses are required to have a capital base of N500 billion while their national and regional counterparts are required to have capital base of N200 billion and N50 billion respectively.

Similarly, the capital base of national non-interest banks were raised to N20 billion while that of regional non-interest was raised to N10 billion. Merchant banks capital base was also raised to N50 billion.

LEADERSHIP findings showed that while the fate of some banks with holding company structure are not fully clear, nearly all the banks with the exception of the two regional non interest banks met the new capital base. Taj Bank and Lotus Bank both have currently more than the N10 billion that is required for them to continue operation.

In total, the 25 banks surveyed by LEADERSHIP showed a cumulative N2.049 trillion in paid up capital and share premium. This means that the banks would be needing a total of N3.894 trillion to meet up with the new capital base should they decide against mergers, acquisitions and reclassification.

Speaking on the capital base, Head of Financial Institutions at Agusto & Co, Ayokunle Olubunmi noted that whilst the recapitalisation bid will see another interesting couple of years in the banking industry, the CBN has to be cautious in ensuring that the industry is not flooded with illicit funds.

According to him, the apex bank will have to shore up its oversight and regulatory functions to ensure that flow of funds from terrorism, corruption and illicit proceeds are not laundered through the recapitalisation of banks.

“The CBN will have to ensure that proceeds from drugs and terrorism does not come in. Secondly, the CBN also need to ensure that it recapacitate itself such that they have the tools, the capacity to supervise the bank of such sizes. Because one major thing we have realised is that after the recapitalisation exercise, CBN is not able to supervise those banks and those are the things they should watch out for.

“And on the part of the bank, the banks need to be careful because if they are not careful with the merger and acquisition and other events that may come again, they need to be carefully that they don’t have a marriage of strange bedfellows. They need to ensure that the person they bring onboard is someone they have the same vision with, because that can ultimately kill the brand.”

Olubunmi stated that whilst everyone was expecting recapitalisation, “the format which the CBN went about it is not what everybody expected. Everybody was thinking about shareholders fund but they surprised everyone by coming from the angle of paid up capital instead of shareholders fund that was traditionally used. All the banks will be required to actually go to the market and raise capital.

“But the banks have two years, it is not something that if they don’t do it now, they will be in trouble. The other thing is that this is just the beginning and I’m sure that will there will be a lot of engagement. The banks will push back, particularly with the paid up capital, they will push back and may even ask the CBN to add retained earnings to it.

“If the CBN sticks to its decision, the banks will have to bring in institutional investors, and some will either merge or leave the industry. There would also be the option of scaling down to meet the recapitalisation so it is a lot of interesting times ahead

“Another thing is that the CBN wasn’t to use this to galvanize the inflow of dollars. because each of the banks will need the money required for recapitalisation and may have to source for investors outside the country, increasing the inflow of dollars that will help the industry.

On her part, Group head of Global Markets at Parthian Partners, Ronke Akinyemi said the new bank recapitalisation requirements by the CBN is a step in the right direction as it will eventually result in a more robust financial system. Though steep, we believe the time frame given will allow room for the current banks to meet the requirements before the deadline.

“Ultimately, we envision that this new recapitalisation requirement will result in increased foreign direct investments which will in turn help to stabilise the naira, thus we expect to see rounds of capital raises especially with the restrictions of the capital requirement to share capital and share premium. In addition, we envisage that there will be mergers between tier 1&2 banks and also among tier 2 banks to meet this new requirements.”

Speaking on this, the vice president, Highcap securities Limited, Mr. David Adnori said that the new capital base will be judged by the combination of the paid-off capital and share premium.

He noted that a lot of the banks that have large reserves and they will need to capitalise on their reserves, by converting them into paid-off capital, saying that if a lot of the banks do that, a lot of them will massively surpass that figure.

Adnori noted that the emphasis is mainly on banks with international operations and one can see the rationale behind the huge increase for those commercial banks with foreign exposures through their foreign operations because of the depreciation of the naira.

He pointed that a lot of those banks already have a lot of amount in their reserves which become capitalized. But some of them have also opted to go afresh, to raise fresh capital from the capital market, to increase their paid-up capital base.

He added that the fear now is that if a lot of them besiege the capital market to raise capital, then they will be crowding out funds from the real productive sector that has a serious shortage of capital.

“So, one would actually have expected that public policy should be aimed at shifting capital to recapitalise the productive sector, and not again to shift capital from the economy to the banking sector that is already well capitalized,” he said.

The doyen of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Rasheed Yusuf, said stated that the local bourse can support such a major capital raise, even without the presence of foreign investors.

An economy and capital market analyst, Rotimi Fakayejo said “the market will support it with the deadline of 24 months. At such a time, Foreign Portfolio Investors would have started returning to the market gradually.”

Based on this, under the commercial banks with international authorisation of N500 billion; Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, FCMB, First Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Union Bank, United Bank for Africa and Zenith have with a total amount of paid-up capital and share premium to be N251.81 billion, N129.71 billion, N125.29 billion, N251.34 billion, N138.19 billion, N148.09, N115.82 billion, and N270.75 billion, respectively. This shows that the institutions will be raising capital to meet up with the new capital base of N248.19 billion, N370.30 billion, N374.71 billion, N248.66 billion, N361.81 billion, N351.91 billion, N384.19 billion, and N229.25 billion, respectively.

Also, out of the Commercial Banks operating all over the country, EcoBank Nigeria met the new capital base as the Bank’s issued share capital and share premium stood at N353.51 billion exceeding the N200 billion new capital base. The paid-up capital and share premium of CitiBank Nigeria Limited (N14.44 billion), Polaris Bank (N50.43 billion), Stanbic IBTC Bank (N109.26 billion), Standard Chartered Bank Limited (N45.42 billion), Sterling Bank (N57.15 billion), Titan Trust Bank (N29.20 billion), Unity Bank (N16.33 billion), and Wema Bank (N15.13 billion) will be adding a new capital of N185.56 billion, N149.57 billion, N90.74 billion, N154.58 billion, N142.85 billion, N170.80 billion, N183.67 billion, and N184.87 billion respectively

Meanwhile, under the regional non-interest banking with a new capital base of N10 billion, TAJ Bank and Lotus Bank met the requirement by N14.06 billion and N13.03 billion respectively.

Based on the stipulation of the CBN, Access Corporation, the parent company of Access Bank has paid-up capital and share premium of N251.811 billion according to its 2023 full-year result released yesterday hence a shortfall of N248.189 billion.

FBN Holdings, the parent company of FirstBank has paid-up capital and share premium of N251.3 billion, hence a shortfall of N248.66 billion, according to its Q3’23 results. The paid-up capital and share premium of GTHoldco, the parent company of GTBank stands at N138.186 billion as of Q3’23, hence a shortfall of N361.814 billion

UBA has paid-up capital and share premium of N115.815 billion, hence a shortfall of N384.185 billion according to its Q3’23 Zenith Bank has a paid-up capital and share premium of N270.745 billion, hence a shortfall of N229.255 billion.

By Mariam Ileyemi


A Nigerian nurse, identified as Elizabeth Offier, who was suspended over misconduct by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) now risks being struck off from the agency’s register.

A panel of the Fitness to Practice Committee of the NMC had earlier suspended Ms Offier for six months for “impairment of her fitness to practice arising from misconduct”, but this was questioned by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA).

PSA filed an appeal in March 2023 because it said the penalty imposed by the panel was not sufficient for the “protection of the public.” It asked the court to quash the decision and substitute a striking-off order.

This was revealed in a 21-page judgement exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, which Justice Sheldon approved on 26 March 2024 after a hearing held on 6 March at the Royal Court of Justice, London.

Another panel review hearing held on 23 August 2023 which Ms Offier failed to attend decided to impose a further period of suspension for 12 months, with a further review to be held at the end of the new punishment period.

The NMC’s panel found that Ms Offier was dishonest on different occasions with her employers, and she admitted to having breached the order due to financial reasons.


How it happened

Ms Offier was admitted to the NMC register in March 2004, having worked as a nurse in Nigeria for several years. In November 2018, she registered with Pulse Healthcare Limited – a nursing agency and worked through them at two Foundation Trusts.

On 11 April 2019, the registrant worked a night shift at a hospital that was part of South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. During this shift, it was alleged that she signed a patient’s chart with another nurse’s initials to indicate that both she and her colleague had attended to the patient.

On 22 and 23 April 2019, she also worked the night shift at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, where it is alleged that she failed to give three patients intravenous antibiotic medication and failed to give insulin to two other patients.

She is alleged to have signed patient records indicating that she had administered medication when she had not.

Ms Offier failed to attend any of the meetings scheduled by Pulse to discuss whether she had been in “breach of contract”, after which her contract was terminated.

However, on 11 October 2019, Pulse made a referral to NMC and on 27 August 2019, the registrant applied for employment with another agency- First Call Healthcare Agency, and refused to disclose in the application form that she had worked for Pulse or Standby Agency – another agency with whom she had been registered.

She confirmed that the information provided was accurate and completed a Qualified Staff Questionnaire, where she indicated “No” that she had never been the subject of a disciplinary or investigation by an employer, or had been referred to NMC.


NMC conditions

The NMC Investigating Committee imposed some conditions in relation to the administration of medications and imposed an interim condition of practice order on the registrant for 18 months.

The conditions imposed by the committee were that the registrant should ensure that she was supervised by another registered nurse at any time that she was working and that she had to give a copy of these conditions to any agency with whom she was registered to work.

However, Ms Offier did not notify First Call of the conditions and in December 2019, through a routine check of NMC records, First Call discovered that the registrant was subject to conditions imposed by NMC.

On learning of the conditions imposed by the agency, First Call examined its records and realised that the registrant had worked one-night shift on 7 December 2019 as the only nurse in charge at a care home.

In reaction, Ms Offier explained that she had “never intended to hide anything as such conditions of practice are all made public by NMC. I am sorry if it has caused inconvenience”.

Ms Offier was eventually dismissed by First Call and a referral was made to NMC, leading to her being subjected to an interim suspension order by NMC. This continued to be in force until the hearing before the panel.

As of 3 May 2020, Ms Offier reached out to an investigator at NMC stating that she had not intended to breach the terms of the order when she worked a night shift alone.

She explained “I was in such a financial difficulty that I went to do a shift in a nursing home where a senior carer was also on duty. I sincerely apologise for having done this out of financial desperation and I strongly state here that I will never do such a thing again”.

Ms Offier failed to appear and was not represented at a hearing before the panel on 9 March 2023.


Appeal, panel findings

According to the court document highlighting the panel findings and Ms Offier’s work history and “proven” misconduct, NMC, as the first respondent in the case, has conceded the appeal.

While Ms Offier, the second respondent did not appear before the Court, Mr Sheldon noted that she indicated that she was not prepared to consent to being struck off the register and that she made no representations as to why the appeal should be dismissed.

However, the appeal proceeded in the absence of the registrant after the counsel for the PSA, David Hopkins, “indicated that he would seek to put before the court the arguments that the registrant might have put had she attended.”

The NMC’s panel found that Ms Offier had dishonestly failed to disclose information to a future employer about the existence of two previous employers and that she was subject to investigation by that previous employer.

It also found that she had dishonestly failed to disclose information to her employer that conditions had been imposed on her by NMC.

The panel also found that the registrant had worked one shift for the employer in breach of the condition that she should be supervised by a registered nurse.


Court disposal

Mr Sheldon in his comments admitted that the panel “fell into error by finding that none of the six forms of dishonesty that are most likely to call into question whether a nurse should be allowed to remain on the register were met.”

While PSA contends that any sanction less than one of striking off was not sufficient for the protection of the public, it also argued that the panel failed to give adequate reasons that striking off was disproportionate.

“I do not need to reach a final view on this ground, as I have already found that the panel made several errors and so its decision was wrong,” the judge said.

In his conclusion, Mr Sheldon said: “Accordingly, I will allow the appeal but remit the decision so that the question of sanction can be looked at in light of the findings that the panel made, but also the findings that the panel should have made. I shall consider further submissions from the parties as to the appropriate form of the order for remittal and on any other consequential matter.”Exclusive: UK authority suspends Nigerian nurse over dishonesty, may strike name off register.

The Nigerian economy had an inflow of over $1.5bn in the past few days.

This, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicates that its monetary policy efforts are working.

The Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Hakama Ali, stated these in a statement on Friday.

Ali noted that data available to the bank, indicated that the inflows resulted from a concerted effort to stabilise the foreign exchange market.

She said the naira has also continued to record gains in the Autonomous Foreign Exchange market, as it traded at N1,309/$1 as against N1,611/$1 in the second week of March 2024.

Ali noted that Thursday’s rate signified that the naira was headed in the right direction.

She assured that the Yemi Cardoso-led CBN remained committed to ensuring the stability of the market, and the appropriate pricing of the naira against other major currencies worldwide.

This comes on the heels of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announcement of a two-percent increase in its benchmark rate, from 22.75 per cent to 24.75 per cent on March 26, 2024.

The Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, during his post-meeting briefing, also reiterated that the CBN had cleared all verified foreign exchange backlog, underscoring the fact that liquidity would improve in the foreign exchange market.

On March 27, 2024, the Bank conducted the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) auction of N1.64trn, at stop rates of 16.24 per cent, 17 per cent, and 21.124 per cent for the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors, respectively.

The decision to increase the interest rate raised lots of concern among citizens and economic experts.

But Cardoso said the bank’s decision was intended to stabilise the economy by bringing the interest rate at par with the current inflation in the country.

The governor said: “While the increase in interest rate may have tendencies toward strangulating the economy, with the foreign exchange rate coming down, that also helps to moderate it overall.

“And as I said earlier, you would expect that this would not be too long drawn; at least I would hope so. We are getting towards a situation where the exchange rate is moderating, and we are expecting it to moderate, and then it finds a level that, quite frankly, is sustainable.

“This would involve huge collaboration with the fiscal side because a lot of that cannot just rely on the monetary side alone.”

The House of Representatives has vowed that it will recover two Bell helicopters, Bell 206L4 BZB and Bell M2061- L4, belonging to the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, Kaduna State sold to private individuals.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets, Ademorin Kuye, said this at the investigative hearing on the sale of the two helicopters in Abuja on Thursday.

Kuye expressed concern over the sale of the two helicopters to private individuals, when the college was left with no helicopter for training.

The committee also questioned the process leading to the sale of the helicopters as security agencies, including the Nigerian Air Force, Navy and the police, indicated interest to purchase them.

The security agencies were, however, denied by the management of the NCAT.

The three security agencies, according to various submissions, did not only indicate interest in purchasing the helicopters by writing but also visited the college but were denied the opportunity to purchase them.

The acting Rector, NCAT, Mr Shaka Imalighwe, said though he was the Deputy Rector of the college at the time the helicopters were sold, he was not part of the team/committee that facilitated the sales.

Imalighwe said that he took over the management of the college in an acting capacity in January 2024.

The committee said in spite of initial appeals to NCAT to provide certain documents regarding the process that led to the sale of the helicopters in May 2023, they had not been able to provide them.

This, according to him, was in respect of approval of the Federal Executive Council and the Ministry of Aviation as well as newspaper publication advertising the intention to sell the helicopters.

Imalighwe told the committee that the helicopters were in service and being maintained by relevant aviation bodies when they were sold.

The acting rector of the college also confirmed to the lawmakers that at the moment, there was no single helicopter in the institution for training.

The lawmakers argued that it was wrong for NCAT to have used an unlicensed auctioneer to sell the helicopters.

The committee directed the immediate past and current Minister of Aviation to appear before it in the next investigative hearing.

Also summoned was the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, MOFI, both immediate past and present rectors of the college, among others.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has lifted forex restrictions on the importation of milk and dairy products in the country, a move expected to push down prices.

This was contained in a CBN circular with the reference number TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/010 dated March 12 to all banks.

Zenith Bank further confirmed the development in a recent notice to customers.

“Please be informed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through its circular Ref No: TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/010, dated March 12, 2024, has provided an update on eligible items for foreign exchange (Non-Valid for FX),” the statement reads.

“In light of the preceding, please note that the restriction on foreign exchange for importing dairy products and its derivatives to all entities except selected companies has been lifted.”

This means importers can now access foreign exchange at official market rates.

Recall that on February 11, 2020, the CBN had added milk and dairy products to the list of items not eligible for forex.

Meanwhile, on October 12, 2023, the apex bank announced lifting the ban on 43 items previously restricted from accessing forex.

On Tuesday, the Naira appreciated to N1,560.57 per USD from N1,572.82 on Monday at the official forex market. This reduced the import duty exchange rate to N1,572.507 per USD on Tuesday from N1,593.41.

Controversial Islamic scholar, Ahmad Gumi, has disclosed that security agents know the hideouts of bandits.

Gumi said security agents who accompanied him during negotiations knew the hideouts of the bandits in the Northern part of the country.

Speaking with Nigeria Info FM, on security agencies not knowing the hideout of bandits, the cleric said: “I don’t think they (security agents) are truthful with you. When I go, I go with them; I don’t go alone.”

On the identities of the bandits, Gumi said they are mainly herdsmen, who are largely Nigerians with few foreigners.

The cleric also emphasized the necessity of negotiation with the perpetrators behind the recent abduction of approximately 287 students from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna State.

He proposed that negotiation could lead to a safe return of the captives without necessarily involving financial transactions, hinting at potential prisoner swaps.

Gumi portrayed the bandits as marginalized citizens deprived of basic social services like education, infrastructure, and water.

A prosecution witness, on Monday, told the Federal High Court in Abuja how the Head of Stakeholders Unit of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) Emmanuella Ita, allegedly diverted large sums of money belonging to the FIRS unit to her private school, Surestart School Ltd.

Ms Ita ran Surestart School Ltd while serving as the Head of Stakeholders Unit of the FIRS, according to a press statement by by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday.

Testifying as the sixth prosecution witness (PW6) on Monday, Ijeoma Maltida, an EFCC investigator, told the court that the funds allegedly diverted by Ms Ita were meant for certain projects to be executed by her unit at the FIRS.

The witness, who was being cross-examined by defence lawyer, Paul Erokoro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the funds meant for the projects were traced into her account with the payment narration.

She told the trial judge, Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, that investigations showed that the same funds were sent directly into the account of the second defendant, Surestart School Ltd.

“When she came to our office, we took her statement, we were cordial with her, and she was treated very well with utmost respect.

“While she was with us for reconciliation, she started bringing documents, and she also opted to pay back for some reconciliation she could not account for. She said in her statement that she will pay back the money. I don’t know where she got the money from, and so far, she has refunded about N17million, though she told us that she benefited about N5million from the program,” the statement by the EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, quoted the witness as saying.

The witness added: “I don’t know the standard practice of sourcing for funds before asking for reimbursement, and it is not within the scope of our investigation. All I know is that she undertook some of the stakeholders’ events, and we saw that those monies that came from FIRS went directly into the account of the second defendant, and the description was that the assignment was not done.”

Ms Maltida said the defendant told her team that the vendors that were supposed to do the events had given their evidence in court and testified that the receipts did not presented by the defendant come from them.

“She further claimed that those receipts were given to her by one Daniel, who was a staff of FIRS,” the witness said.

Testifying further, she said, “we were told he was late and we demanded for the death certificate which was given to us. We requested for his account details and we discovered he was also a beneficiary. We wrote to FIRS, UBA, System Spec, and invited everyone involved in this matter and everything we have here are as a result of our investigations.”

After the cross-examination, Ms Ogunbanjo-Giwa, adjourned the matter till 20 and 21 March for continuation trial.

The EFCC is prosecuting Ms Ita and Surestart School Limited on 25 counts of criminal misappropriation, diversion, criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N2 billion.

The police in Borno on Monday confirmed that a suicide bomber injured two persons in Biu Local Government Area of the state.

ASP Daso Nahum, the command’s Public Relations Officer, PPRO, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday.

Mr Nahum, said that the incident occurred at about 8pm on Sunday, when the Muslim faithful were observing their night prayers.

”The male suicide bomber, who was suspected to be heading to the mosque, detonated the Improvised Explosive Device(IED) close to the roundabout, killing himself.

”Two passersby who were wounded by the explosive were immediately rushed to a hospital for treatment.

”A combined team of security personnel were immediately deployed to the scene of the incident to restore normalcy,” he said.

The spokesman, urged the people to heighten their level of vigilance especially during this period of Ramadan when most Muslim faithful are observing late night prayers.

”People should make sure that they are vigilant and should not hesitate to report any suspicious moves to the security agencies,” he said.
NAN

A new report from Ernst and Young estimates that 17 out of 24 banks might not meet the capital requirement from the CBN if it is increased 15-fold from its current N25 billion.

Nairametrics, which quoted the report, said the finding discusses the options available to banks who might fall outside the capital requirements from the CBN.

Although the report acknowledged that financial soundness indicators show that Nigerian banks are largely safe and resilient as of 2023.

According to the report, the recent plan by the CBN to increase the capital base of banks will lead to a series of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) as witnessed during the last recapitalisation exercise in 2004/2005. The last recapitalisation exercise of the apex bank reduced the number of banks from 89 to 25.

It stated, “While the CBN governor gave no indication as to the magnitude of the proposed hike in the capital base, we have assumed what the proposed increment will be based on three different scenarios underpinned on current macroeconomic conditions. On the back of that, we were able to determine the number of banks (across the three licence types) that may fall below the new minimum capital thresholds.

“In a worst-case scenario, i.e., given a capital multiplier of 15, about 17 out of 24 banks would not meet the new minimum capital.”

The report noted that the plan to recapitalise banks is premised upon the recent devaluation of the naira in 2023. It explained that the exchange rate as of 2005 during the last exercise in 2005 stood at N132.9/$ but the naira currently exchange for over N1400/$.

Furthermore, the N25 billion capital base in 2005 amounted to $188.2 million, this has dropped significantly to a mere $18.4 million using the recent exchange rate.

Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt


Rivers Commissioner for Works Dr. George-Kelly Alabo, has resigned to join the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Alabo’s resignation followed his appointment by Tinubu as the Director-General of Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA).

Alabo, a loyalist of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, was among the commissioners, who resigned their appointments in the State during the crisis between Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

He was later reabsorbed into the cabinet by the Governor in fulfillment of one of the nine-point peace resolution brokered by President Tinubu to resolve the crisis in the state.

It was, however, gathered that Alabo tendered a fresh resignation letter after accepting Tinubu’s appointment.

In his resignation letter dated March 14th and addressed to Fubara, Alabo said his action was to enable him accept the appointment graciously offered him by the President.

He said: “I hereby resign my appointment as the Commissioner for Works in Rivers State to enable me take up an appointment graciously offered to me by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I appreciate your Excellency for the opportunity to serve my beloved Rivers State as the Commissioner for Works”

The Methodist Church of Nigeria, Ikot Omin, Eno Abasi Circuit Diocese, Calabar, Cross River State has called on the management of Ekondo Microfinance Bank to compensate the church to the tune of N35 million after the mast belonging to the bank collapsed and destroyed the residence of the Minister in-charge, Rev. Evans Uwaoma Obiokor.

The church said the collapsed telecoms mast along 8 Miles axis on Calabar Road has rendered the cleric and his family homeless.

Bishop of Diocese of Atamunu (Methodist Cathedral of Favour), Calabar, Otuekong Ukut, in an interview with LEADERSHIP on Thursday in Calabar, stated that preliminary survey showed that the property lost to the collapsed mast is valued at N35 million.

“We have already sent an architect to go through each of the items, and the preliminary survey has shown N35 million for the loss,” the Bishop said.

The cleric listed the items destroyed to the mast to include three buildings comprising the office building, the residence of the Minister in-charge where he lives with his wife and children, the service quarter and the back house which were hit by the fallen mast.

“Those three buildings involved the roofs, the woods, electrical, the appliances, the electronics, office, and books in the office, computers, and photocopiers. It’s a massive damage.

“We have asked our legal officer to inform the bank. We are having our meeting on Monday. At the moment, we have to relocate the minister because the electrical wires in his home are sparking. The water you saw on the floor of his home because of yesterday’s rain can spark up once light is restored.

“Apart from the physical damages, there is threat to the life of the minister, that’s why I have to quickly inform our Prelate at the headquarters and the Board of Trustees. I believe they would have an emergency meeting because all Methodist Church’s property belongs to Board of Trustees,” Ukut maintained.

He said although the management of the bank had not communicated with the church to express concern over the damages or to take responsibility, but as the Bishop, he has visited the premises of the bank, but found out that the collapsed mast was never maintained.

“I found out that the base of the mast was all rotten. There was no environmental impact assessment. The basement and maintenance of the mast were rotten.

“The poles were rotten, with several perforations laced with rust that could not stand the test of time. It’s something that should have been removed if the organisation were to be on alert.

“They should have been the ones to replace the mast with solid steel structures, that was what was about to kill the Minister of Methodist Church, his wife and children,” the Bishop said.

When asked if the management of the bank had visited the church to discuss on the necessary actions to take, Bishop Ukut said none had come.

Asked if the church have the intention to seek redress at the court of law, should the bank fail to a take responsibility for the fallen telecom mast, the Methodist said, “I actually do not expect any responsible organisation or individual to refuse.”

He stressed that it would be very inhuman for the bank to deny responsibility, but it should instead thank God that their negligence and did not lead to the death of anyone.

When LEADERSHIP visited the bank to get its reaction, the Branch Manager, Mrs. Joy Koku, said she does not have the authority to speak on the incident.

”I have no authorisation to make any comment except for or big men from the headquarters,” Koku stated.

The Lagos State Police Command has beefed up security at shopping malls and government warehouses where food items are stored in the metropolis to forestall any possible attack by miscreants.

Similarly, authorities of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the Southwest region said its management had beefed up security around its warehouses in the region.

The move is to forestall any attack on government warehouses and shopping complexes by miscreants who may take advantage of the current hardship and hunger in the country to break into facilities where food items are stored.

Recall that a warehouse belonging to the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory was broken into by hoodlums and a truck loaded with food items was looted by some residents of Dei-Dei in Bwari Local Area of the FCT.

Speaking after a security meeting with Principal Staff Officers (PSOs), Heads of Tactical Teams, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), the Lagos State police commissioner, Mrs Adegoke Fayoade, said plain-clothes policemen had been deployed to keep a close watch on shopping malls as well as key government installations in the state.

Fayoade has also placed all area commanders and their respective Divisional Police Officers on red alert to prevent any breakdown of law and order in any part of the metropolis.

Operatives of the state’s anti-crime squad, the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), have also been directed to keep a close watch on government warehouses and shopping centres where food and beverages are sold.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, exclusively disclosed this to our correspondent on the telephone.

The PPRO said the command was alive to its responsibility of providing security for all and sundry.

Hundeyin said though the command did not anticipate such attack, the deployment was a proactive measure to check any act of violence in the state.

Also speaking, NEMA’s South West Territorial Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, said they had also been directed to beef up security at all government installations in the region.

“All critical stakeholders are on standby for any attempt by anyone. Even though there isn’t a single food item in the warehouses, we are taking precautionary security measures to protect both human and other assets of the federal government from any unforeseen circumstance,” he said.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, says the Federal Government plans to send some medical personnel abroad for training in certain specialties with a view to checking medical tourism and enhancing research,

Alausa said the Federal Ministry of Health was working with the National Postgraduate Medical College, Ijanikin, Lagos State towards the plan.

The health minister spoke in Lagos on Friday during the investiture of Dr Peter Ebeigbe as the 23rd President of the National Postgraduate Medical College, Ijanikin.

Ebeigbe, a fellow in the Faculty of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was elected on December 1, 2023, during the 131st statutory meeting of the governing board of the college, and he is expected to hold the position for the next two years after taking over from the immediate past president, Dr Akinsanya Osibogun.

Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Alausa said the ministry was developing new curricula to solve the challenges in the health sector.

He said, “I am to announce that the college, in collaboration with the ministry, is establishing training in many other sub-specialties to be able to treat Nigerians, reduce medical tourism, and enhance research.

“The new curriculum being developed includes interventional cardiology in the faculty of internal medicine and cardiac electrophysiology in the faculty of internal medicine. This is extremely important as a lot of people in our country now have pacemakers and automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators; interventional radiology in the faculty of radiology; pain medicine in the faculty of anesthesia; critical care medicine in the faculty of anesthesia; hospice and palliative medicine in the faculty of family medicine; and robotic surgery in the faculty of surgery.

“The FMOH is putting mechanisms in place to fund this training abroad for selected candidates who will be bonded. Surgical oncology in the faculty of surgery; and transplant surgery in the faculty of surgery. This super specialty training in solid organ transplant will focus on kidney, liver, lung, and heart transplants for now.”

Speaking during his address, Ebeigbe lamented the dwindling earnings of medical professors and consultants compared to their counterparts in the Middle East.

He noted that the major reason why medical professionals in the country migrated abroad was for economic reasons while calling for urgent economic intervention.

Ebeigbe said, “One of my teachers who travelled to the Middle East and came back after many years explained things to me, stating that a Nigerian medical professor’s annual earnings gradually dwindled until they were less than the equivalent of $700.

“It was an insightful ‘economic’ intervention by the Federal Government for the enactment of the Medical Salary Scale, which resulted in better pay for doctors, that put an end to the medical brain drain.

“The root cause of brain drain is economic, and economic intervention is currently needed to stem the worsening cascade and prevent a collapse of the health system. As a person who relates closely and daily with resident doctors and trainers, I must inform the honorable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare about the severity of the situation.”

Claim: Men need to have sex 21 times monthly to avoid prostate issues.


Full Text

Prostate problems are unique to men because they have to do with a peculiar reproductive organ. There are three types of prostate problems: inflammation (prostatitis), enlarged prostate (BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia), and prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the abnormal and uncontrollable growth of the prostate (a small walnut-shaped gland in males that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm).

Recently, a video was shared by Naija (@Naija_PR) of a medical practitioner identified as Dr Ken asserting that a healthy man should engage in sexual activities 21 times a month to avoid prostate issues.

From the details of the one-minute, 23-second video, we deduced that the footage was from a radio programme “The Discourse” on Classic FM, 97.3. The man emphasised the need to optimise sexual activity, and if need be, men can have multiple sexual partners to meet their needs monthly.

“It is a concept in Physiology; if you don’t use it, you lose it. The only exercise your prostate gland gets is during erection, and that erection comes with sexual activity. So, the study is abundantly clear that a man in healthy shape should be able to have sexual interaction 21 times a month to avoid prostate issues, prostate cancer and cardiovascular issues. If you don’t exercise the gland, it swells on you. It becomes enlarged, and when it becomes enlarged, that is a precursor to cancer.”

As of Friday, 9 February, the post had garnered over 235,000 views, 805 reposts, 241 quotes and 2,320 likes.

The controversial nature of this assertion and the need to provide the public with accurate information, especially on health issues, prompted DUBAWA to investigate it.


Verification

A keyword search led to an article by the Urology Care Foundation, analysing a study that sampled 32,000 men for 18 years. This study found that men who ejaculated the most (at least 21 times a month) had a 20 per cent lower chance of prostate cancer than those who ejaculated four to seven times a month.

The foundation, however, noted that ejaculation may or may not affect the risk of prostate cancer. While it helps the prostate by flushing out harmful chemicals that build up in semen, it does not automatically mean it protects against prostate cancer. This is because there may be other factors like a healthy lifestyle. The foundation noted the need for more research to know for sure whether more ejaculation reduces the risk of prostate cancer or not.

An article by Healthline discussing this study noted some of its limitations. One of these is the fact that the study relied on self-reported answers (once in 1992 and once in 2010) about how often these subjects ejaculated each month and whether they developed prostate cancer. This means that the results could be skewed by the subject’s memories or awareness of their habits.

The article also noted that the study didn’t specify whether the recorded ejaculation resulted from sexual intercourse with a partner or masturbation, and the reason for emission may play a role in any potential benefit.

A Medical News Today article also addresses the relationship between frequent ejaculation and the risk of prostate issues. The article noted that it remains unclear whether more or less ejaculation makes men of all ages likely to develop prostate cancer because of conflicting findings from different studies over the years, which calls for more research.

This article analysed a 2004 study that surveyed more than 29,000 men on their ejaculation frequency over eight years. The earlier mentioned 2016 study was a follow-up to the original 2004 study. The results of these studies supported the assertion that men who ejaculate more frequently may be less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who ejaculate less often.

On the contrary, a 2009 study found that while frequent masturbation might reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men aged 50 and above, it might increase the risk among men in their 20s and 30s. A more recent study in 2017 also found that a higher ejaculation frequency in males in their 30s was protective, but the effect was not the same for males in their 20s and 40s.

A 2016 literature review concluded that masturbation, frequency of ejaculation, and age all affect a male’s risk of prostate cancer, and there is not enough evidence to confirm how these factors might link together.

Similarly, a 2018 meta-analysis of 22 studies on sexual activity and prostate cancer risk found that a moderate ejaculation frequency of two to four times per week was significantly associated with a lower prostate cancer risk. This gives a frequency of about eight to 16 ejaculations per month, which is less than the frequency being promoted by the claimant.

What are the risk factors for prostate cancer?
While it is true ejaculation rate and age are risk factors for prostate cancer, as highlighted by the above studies, it is important to note and be aware of other factors that cause or increase the risk of prostate cancer as this can help males understand their likelihood of developing it.

These factors include age (as men get older, their risk of developing prostate cancer increases. Around 60 per cent of prostate cancer cases affect males over 65.

On race, it is noted that African American males are more likely to develop prostate cancer than white males, while Hispanic and Asian American males are less likely to develop prostate cancer than non-Hispanic white males. On geography, prostate cancer rates are higher in North America, Europe, and Australia than in areas such as Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.

Other common factors include family history and genetic factors such as changes in the BRCA genes, which also increase the risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer; and exposure to chemicals, with some findings suggesting that Agent Orange, which military forces used in the Vietnam war, may have links with prostate cancer).


Experts Opinion

We spoke to a gynaecologist, Jeremiah Agim, who advised us to speak to a urologist but gave us his opinion. He noted that there are several causes of prostrate issues aside from ejaculation, and just tackling ejaculation will not make much difference.

“There are many risk factors for prostate cancer. These range from age and family history (inherited gene mutation) to lifestyle. Even infection and inflammation of the prostate have been implicated, an environmental carcinogen (e.g. bisphenol from plastic), exposure to ionising radiation, obesity, and hormonal level (sex hormone and others). Ejaculation frequency is just one of these risk factors; therefore, I don’t think an increase in ejaculation frequency with an increase in exposure to other risk factors will make much difference in the development of prostate cancer.”

He also faulted the claimant’s law of physiology about prostate use or exercise, saying: “I will fault his concept of use and disuse. If you want to look at it in that direction, the prostate should atrophy, i.e. become small and not become cancerous when not in use, and it should swell when used. Also, it is not only during sexual activity that a man has an erection. Most erections happen during deep sleep. If you remember your biology class on evolution, Jean Lamarck’s theory of use and disuse. He even said such gain in function can even be inherited.”

Speaking on available studies, he said, “If you go back to those studies you said you came across, one of the explanations by the authors for increased ejaculation frequency as a protective factor for prostate cancer is not from use and disuse. They explained that ejaculation removes carcinogens which would have remained and accumulated in the prostate, thereby increasing the risk of prostate cancer.”

We reached out to a Urologist, Head of the Surgery Department at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED) Ondo State, Olurotimi Ogundunniyi, who dismissed this assertion as a mere opinion, not a scientific fact.

“We all saw the video and discussed it on our forum. We lamented that when there is no information, people spread rumours. There are risk factors for prostate cancer, like age and family history. It is of recent, people have started thinking if there is a link between sex and prostate cancer.

“In the past, people thought frequent sex and infection was a risk factor, but there was no research to back it up. Is there a study to show that revered fathers suffer prostate cancer more? No. These are just speculations. There are papers here and there suggesting this. At best, it is the realm of being studied, not science. I assure you he was not speaking science, just his opinion,” Mr Ogundunniyi said.

We also spoke to another urologist, Emmanuel Adugba, the medical director at Rock Creek Care Hospital Abuja, who noted that not much has been discussed in this area, but he believes it is a matter of sentiments.

“That area, not much has been discussed. Anything sex, people tend to exaggerate it. It is subjected to sentiments and emotions. For me, I think of harder issues than sentimental issues,” he said.

He explained that if frequent sex was the solution to prostrate issues, then clergypersons who do not have sex or celibate people should account for more of the patients of prostate cancer. At the same time, people who indulge in more sexual activities because of their many wives and concubines should not have prostate cancer, but this is not the case.


Verdict: [/b]MISLEADING! Available studies suggest the narrative has conflicting findings, hence the need for more research. Experts have also dismissed this as a scientific fact because it is still being studied.


[b]Conclusion

While there are different benefits to having sex or frequent ejaculation, and a few studies suggest a relationship between this and prostate cancer, there is no clear link between the two. Available studies so far recommend further study on the issue, and experts have dismissed this, noting the issue is still being studied.

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has warned that the Ministry of Interior’s expatriate employment levy will deter investment in the country.

The association also faulted the levy, saying there would be a need for certain regulations to be put in place before such tax could be imposed.

In a statement on Sunday, NECA said that following the launch of the Expatriate Employment Handbook, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Interior, purportedly aimed at enhancing skills transfer in Nigeria, the new levy would frustrate the Federal Government’s ongoing fiscal and monetary reforms if implemented.

The Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, “It will also serve as a disincentive to Foreign Direct Investment among many other unintended negative consequences. The levy of between $10,000 to $15,000 on employers that employ expatriates when Nigeria is actively seeking FDI is not only exploitative and extortionist but also a contradiction that cannot be explained.”

“While we support the Federal Government’s objective of developing the local workforce, we have been at the forefront of promoting skills transfer, technical skills development, and employment generation.

He added, “However, the recently launched initiative of the Ministry of Interior has the potential to create more fundamental economic and socio-labour distortions.“

“The imposition of US$15,000 and US$10,000 on organisations that employ expatriates at a time when businesses are shutting down and leaving the country in droves is worrisome. Recent results of many businesses have shown massive losses, a situation that could potentially increase the level of unemployment with dire socio-economic consequences.”

While raising organised businesses’ concern on the legality and appropriateness of the levy, Oyerinde said, “We are concerned at the legality and appropriateness of the Expatriate Employment Levy as well as its effect on the economy. The provisions of a Handbook can never override clear provisions of extant laws in Nigeria, especially the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Immigration Act, and the Local Content Act among others.”

According to him, the Ministry of Interior and indeed, government cannot impose a tax or levy without appropriate legislation.

He said, “For instance, Section 59 of the Nigerian Constitution requires that any imposition of tax, duty, fee, or levy must be backed by an Act of the National Assembly. Levies that are imposed without complying with the provisions of section 59 of the Constitution offends the Constitution and are illegal.”

The NECA chief also observed that “existing legislations, such as the Local Content Act and Immigration Act have already addressed objectives like those of the EEL Handbook – thus, covering the field. Therefore, the introduction of additional levies is an unnecessary duplication and could impede the ease of doing business in Nigeria.”

Oyerinde noted that “the levy, if implemented, will not only distort, and frustrate the ongoing efforts at clear reform of the Fiscal and Monetary space but also contradicts and render ineffective the President’s ongoing quest for Foreign Direct Investment. Furthermore, a reciprocal implementation of the same policy by other countries will have dire consequences on the careers and progress of Nigerians who are expatriates in other nations.”

As a result, he urged that the government seeks to strengthen existing regulatory institutions responsible for managing expatriate employment rather than imposing additional levies, thus ensuring a more responsive and accountable regulatory framework in the implementation of extant laws.

He stressed the adoption of fiscal incentives to enhance investment attractiveness, support business stability, and prioritise measures that facilitate ease of doing business to attract both local and foreign investors.

Oyerinde canvassed for collaborative efforts between the government and private sector to explore alternative revenue streams and promote wealth creation through dialogue and stakeholder engagement.

Oyerinde acknowledged the government’s goals but stressed the need for strategies fostering a favourable investment climate without burdening businesses excessively. Collaboration between the private sector and Government is vital to finding fair solutions promoting economic interests and sustainable business growth.

As notable in Nigerian politics, after the 2023 general elections, there have been defections by key opposition figures into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Political analysts have often described this movement as realignment of interests.

The defectors, most of who hinged their decision on “irreconcilable crises” in their former parties, described the APC as the only platform committed to addressing the various challenges bedeviling the country.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that defection of politicians from one party to another has become a tradition in Nigeria’s political landscape. Pundits said those who did so had various reasons.

Daily Trust on Sunday chronicles some of the prominent politicians, who have since found a new home in the ruling party.


Prof Ahmed Rufa’i Alkali and other NNPP chieftains

Perhaps, one of the most shocking of the defections was that of Professor Ahmed Rufa’i Alkali, the former national chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). He defected from the NNPP to the APC on October 30, 2023 with many other chieftains of the party.

The NNPP chieftains who defected alongside Alkali are the Kaduna State governorship candidate, Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi; Benue State gvernorship candidate, Prof Bem Angwe; Yobe governorship candidate, Garba Umar; ex-Gombe Commissioner for Women Affairs, Binta Bello; Gombe senatorial candidate, Abigail Albashi; Kaduna State NNPP chairman, Nuhu Audu; ex-Kaduna Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman and the immediate past secretary of the NNPP (North West), Dr Isa Shika and Kaduna senatorial candidate, Mikaih Takwat.

Others are the Kaduna NNPP secretary, Major Yahaya Shinko (retd); Kaduna zonal chairman, Usman Danbaba; former Cross River State commissioner, Godwin Ettah; Gombe House of Reps candidate, Adamu Gargajiga; Benue senatorial candidate, Isaac Idu; Benue NNPP deputy chairman, Ihyom Asongu; ex-Benue Commissioner for Information, John Tine; Gombe House of Representatives candidate, Bukar Mailafiya; and ex-Gombe Commissioner for Community Development and Poverty Alleviation, Aishatu Hashidu, among others.

The development came two days after the South East chapter of the NNPP disowned the presidential candidate and leader of the party and former governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and settled for Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who founded the party 22 years ago.

The defectors were received at the APC national secretariat in Abuja by the party’s national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

Speaking during the event, Prof Alkali said, “Mr Chairman, before you today are some of the leading members of the NNPP. As Your Excellency may be aware, most of us seated here participated actively in building and strengthening the NNPP political base as a formidable political movement that enabled the party to field candidates in virtually every electable position throughout the 36 states of the federation and Abuja.

“To us, the APC is more accommodating. We are even more convinced that there is a sense of urgency to address the political, economic and social issues that confront our country in order to bring greater good to the greater number of Nigerians, especially the poor, the underprivileged, the women, the youth and other vulnerable groups in our society. And we believe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will see us through.”

Welcoming the defectors, Ganduje said, “It (NNPP) was a decent party before it was bought and polluted by the Kwankwasiyya Movement. But you have done well by retracing your steps to the right party, which is the APC. I promise to convey your congratulatory message to President Bola Tinubu and arrange for you to meet him face to face.”


Ramalan Yero

He is a former governor of Kaduna State. He joined the APC, five months after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party.

The former governor, who served the state from 2012 to 2015 on the platform of the PDP, joined the APC on February 11, 2024.

Explaining why he defected, Yero said, “Since the very day we announced our defection from the PDP, many political parties contacted us, including the ruling APC. We met and discussed since the very day we left our former party. Therefore, from today, being February 12, 2024, myself and representatives of other political associates have decided to join the APC. After our decision, we met with the state governor and had a discussion with him. We told him that we accepted to join the party based on the invitation we received.”


Senator Ifeanyi Ubah

Ubah, who represents Anambra South in the National Assembly, had in October 2023 defected from the Young Progressives Party (YPP) to the APC.

He informed the Senate of his defection in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary. Ubah explained that his decision to join the ruling party was premised on some irreconcilable differences in the YPP.

He thereafter stormed the APC national secretariat in Abuja on October 11, 2023 with his supporters and Anambra State Executive Committee members, where he was received by the party’s national chairman, Dr Ganduje and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

It was gathered that the party has put in motion, a plan to make further inroads into the South East by taking over Anambra from the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2025 governorship election.

On October 6, Ganduje said President Tinubu approved a blueprint for political liberation of the South East and urged political bigwigs in the region to unite and key into it.

Addressing the gathering, Ganduje, who announced Ubah as the leader of the party in the state, said he would deliver the state to the APC in 2025.

He said, “This is the biggest fish we have caught since I became the chairman. Let’s see what is happening in the South East. With five states, three are controlled by different political parties. We have the PDP, Labour Party (LP) and APGA. The remaining two are APC states. Now, where is the sense of unity in a geopolitical zone with five states controlled by four political parties? Is this a sense of collective decision to participate in national politics? No.”

Some analysts said Senator Ubah would likely contest the party’s ticket to run against Governor Charles Soludo, who would be seeking a second term in 2025.


Salihu Tanko-Yakasai

He is a former governorship candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in Kano State, but he dumped the party for the APC on August 30, 2023.

In a post on his verified X handle, Tanko-Yakasai stated that a former governor of Kano State and the current national chairman of the APC, Dr Ganduje, urged him to return to the party to help in “consolidating its gains.

The post reads, “The national chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (OFR), has requested me to return to the party and continue to give my best in consolidating the gains of the party from top to bottom, which I have gladly accepted.”

Before joining the PRP, Yakasai had worked with Ganduje but fell out with him before the elections. He has since reunited with his former boss, now serving as one of the APC national chairman’s aides.


Senator Halliru Dauda Jika

He was the Bauchi State governorship candidate of the NNPP in the 2023 election.

After he received his APC membership card at the Kafin Madaki ward in Ganjuwa Local Government Area in the state, Jika said, “All APC members in Bauchi State will now come together, harmonise and strategise, fuse together as one solid entity ahead of the 2027 polls so that we will emerge victorious in Bauchi State. My return to the APC is marking the beginning of a new dawn in the party in Bauchi State.”


27 Rivers lawmakers, others defect

Twenty-seven members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the platform of the PDP, had in December 2023 defected to the APC following the feud between the state governor, Sim Fubara and his predecessor, who is the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

The lawmakers cited division within the PDP as the primary reason for their defection to the APC. The affected lawmakers are said to be loyal to Wike.

Two officials of the PDP in Benue State also defected to the APC on January 3, 2024. They are Vincent Yandev Amaabai, a national ex-officio and Mbakorlumun James Chia, the state vice chairman for Benue North-West (Zone “B”) senatorial district.

The state publicity secretary of the PDP, Bemgba Iortyom, had in a statement noted, “PDP understands that migration of politicians of a particular kind from the opposition to the ruling party has become a common feature of our politics and sees nothing unusual about this current episode of it.”

Also, on December 4, 2023, a stalwart of the PDP and former contender for the House of Representatives, Babatunde Agunbiade, officially defected to the APC in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State. He defected with scores of his supporters

In his address at the rally, Agunbiade cited the country’s best interest and his supporters’ yearnings as the primary motivation for his decision to switch allegiance.

A few days ago, scores of members of the PDP and the Zenith Labour Party in Ondo State defected to the APC. The official defection took place at the APC secretariat in Akure, the state capital on Wednesday.

The defectors are a former member of the state House of Assembly, Mr Tomide Akinribido; former House of Representatives candidate of the PDP, Mr Dare Aliu; Dr Felder Olatunji, Olu Falolu, Ayodele Ikumawoyi, Pastor Olatunde Felix, Chief Pius Akinrinmola, among others.

On December 5, 2023, scores of PDP members also defected to the APC in Kwara State.

The defectors, numbering about 200, were led by a former chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area under the Governor Abdullfatah Ahmed administration, Muyiwa Oladipo (Kanu).

The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu and the APC chairman in Irepodun Local Government, Abdulhafeez Yakubu, received the defectors at the local government secretariat in Omu Aran.

In an earlier interview with Daily Trust on Sunday , a renowned political analyst, Professor Kamilu Sani Fage, said it’s always an easy decision for politicians in the country to switch political parties because most of them only see the political parties as a vehicle to achieve their personal ambitions.

He said it was difficult to identify political parties based on manifestos or ideologies; hence it is easier for politicians to move freely from an opposition party to a ruling party, and vice versa. He added that because of personal goals and lack of ideology, most politicians find it difficult to remain in the opposition.

Also commenting, a professor of Political Science, Tunde Adeniran, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the quest for materialism and lack of political ideology are some of the factors responsible for defection of opposition leaders and members to the ruling party after elections.

He said, “There is the rush at different levels and by various politicians to join the ruling party because of lack of ideology.

“It ordinarily should serve as a compass to guide members of the political class and their followers.

“In its absence, the majority of politicians act without integrity, principles or values-guided direction. They are, therefore, prompted by materialism in their actions.”

Grace Obike, Abuja


President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s two-day official visit to the State of Qatar will assume full gear today with the signing of seven agreements between Nigeria and the Middle East country.

The visit had begun yesterday with a visit the Nigerian president paid to the Museum in Doha, the capital city where the CEO of Qatar Museums Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi and the Director of National Museum of Qatar, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Hamad Al Thani conducted the Nigerian leader around the facilities.

The Museum which was recently redesigned ahead of the 2022 FIFA world Cup, offers visitors access to a variety of materials used in Islamic art, including carpets and textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, wood, ivory, metalwork, stone and glass.

The President is expected to see pieces of materials dating back to the earliest Islamic period from the 20th century, spanning Spain and North Africa to the Far East.

The host is also expected to conduct his visitor to view the early Hijazi Quran fragments, the sitara of the Holy Kaaba, the Moroccan arch, a copy of al-Sufi’s treatise on the fixed stars, the Abbasid blue-and-white bowl, the Seljuq stucco panel, the Doha Hind and the post-Islamic Spanish ceiling.

The visit to the Museum is expected to herald other events that will culminate in the signing of agreements in seven areas between the Nigeria and Qatari governments today.

From the Museum, the President will visit the Qatar Foundation, which is responsible for promoting Qatar government humanitarian activities in other countries, including Nigeria.

The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, is a state-led non-profit organisation in Qatar.

The institution, which was founded in 1995 by the then Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Missne, has been linked to development of schools, houses and health facilities in several countries, including Nigeria.

The Foundation helped Nigeria with infrastructures including schools, residential houses and health facilities in states ravaged by insecurity.


Earlier on Friday night, President Tinubu had met with key ministers and top officials of the Qatari government.

At the meeting were some key Nigerian government officials on the President’s entourage, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; the Minister of Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite; the Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Ibrahim and the Minister of Health and Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare, Ali Pate.

FG has identified locations with Lithium in commercial quantity —Alake

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, said the Federal Government (FG) has identified locations where Lithium occurs in commercial quantities in the country.

He said comprehensive data on the pattern and quantity of energy mineral Lithium are available at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for businesses interested in establishing lithium companies in Nigeria.

Special Adviser to the Minister, Kehinde Bamigbetan, made this known in a statement.

He said Alake made this disclosure in Doha, Qatar on Saturday at a meeting with Qatari businessmen on the sidelines of the visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Arab country.

He stated: “Comprehensive data on the pattern and quantity of energy mineral Lithium are available at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for businesses interested in establishing lithium companies in Nigeria.

“Responding to enquiries on the quality of Nigerian lithium by Qatari business mogul Sheikh Shahid Jawad, at the meeting held at the prestigious Sheraton Doha, Alake said mineral exploration initiated by the Federal Government has identified locations where lithium is available in commercial quantities and in high grades.

“To buttress the disclosure, Alake recalled that on a visit to Australia, he was presented with samples of rock composites from Nigeria with high grade lithium content confirmed by laboratory analysis.

“He said it showed that the quality of Nigerian lithium has been recognised by the global mining sector.

“Encouraging Qatari businessmen to visit the country and witness the immense opportunities in mining, Alake said the Nigerian government has put in place generous, investor- friendly policies to facilitate business.

“Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of Solid Minerals Development Fund, Mrs Fatimah Shinkafi, urged investors to explore opportunities in mining infrastructures.

“Giving the example of Vale, a mining company in Brazil that invested in trains to ease the transportation of minerals from the mines to the processing towns, Shinkafi said while the government will continue to provide transportation facilities to the mines, mining companies that recognise the significance of transportation to their future cost control will invest wisely by supplementing government’s efforts.

“Also giving the minister the update of its activities in the mining sector, the vice- chairman of the Qatar- Nigerian Chamber of Business, Muhammed Santuraki, said the chamber was formed in 2017 to build business relations between both countries.

“Recalling a recent visit to a gold mine in Nasarawa State, Santuraki observed the existence of good roads for the haulage of minerals to the ports.

“Other businessmen at the top- level meeting were Sheikh El Jouneid, Chief Executive Officer, ETCC Qatar and Aminu Dahiru, Chairman, Asdub Oil & Gas.”

Godwin Emefiele, immediate-past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has demanded the sum of N25 billion as damages from Senate President Godswill Akpabio over an alleged defamatory remark.

On Sunday, Akpabio said the allegations against Emefiele are so numerous that the federal government does not know which charges to pin on him.

The senate president also blamed the economic hardship in the country on the policies of the former CBN governor. Akpabio and childish talk are just inseparable..

In the letter dated February 19 and seen by TheCable on Wednesday, Matthew Burkaa, counsel to Emefiele, said if Akpabio fails to pay the aforementioned sum and tender an apology, the ex-CBN governor would seek “appropriate redress”.

President Bola Tinubu says his administration is making efforts to raise at least $10 billion to increase foreign exchange (FX) liquidity, stabilise the naira and grow the economy.

Tinubu made this known at the inauguration of the public wealth management conference organised by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said there was a need to identify, consolidate and maximise returns on government-owned assets worth trillions of naira.

Represented at the event by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu also said there are plans to create millions of jobs by unlocking the value of Nigeria’s vast public assets.

“The federal government set a goal to raise at least $10 billion in order to increase foreign exchange liquidity, a key ingredient to stabilise the naira and grow the economy,” he said.

“At the core of this is ensuring optimal management of the assets and investments of the Federal Government towards unlocking their revenue potential.

“This includes our bold and achievable plan to double the GDP growth rate and significantly increase the GDP base over the next 8 years.”

Tinubu, however, revealed that decades of mismanagement and underutilisation have plagued the country’s assets, spread across Nigeria and outside its borders, leading to revenue losses that have hindered economic growth.

He assured that “the newly restructured Ministry of Finance Incorporated, which is to act as custodian and active manager of these assets, will now take the centre stage.”

The president also said transparency and accountability are key principles, believing improved corporate governance, innovative partnerships and attracting alternative investment capital would significantly increase returns.

“These improved returns will then be directed towards crucial funding for education, healthcare, housing, power, roads and other areas vital to lifting millions out of poverty,” Tinubu said.

“And stimulating sustainable economic development and job creation for the youths.”

By efficiently managing public resources, Tinubu said the government aimed to build a more equitable society and unlock the full potential of its citizens.

He, therefore, called on all stakeholders, including ministries, development financial institutions and the public and private sector players, to partner with MOFI to optimise the strategic assets.

Tinubu expressed hope that the collaborative effort would unlock Nigeria’s full potential and create a brighter future for all citizens.

On his part, Shamsudeen Usman, MOFI board chairman, said the asset manager would play a more active role in the management of assets under its purview.

He told operators of the assets to see MOFI as partners rather than competitors or regulators.

The chairman said the management was committed to high-level corporate governance.

Usman also said the company had integrated a non-conflict of interest policy to guard against practices that undermine professionalism among members of staff.

President Bola Tinubu has directed immediate settlement of outstanding electricity bill due to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President’s directive followed the reconciliation of accounts between the State House Management and AEDC.

The AEDC on Monday, in an advertorial, published in a number of national dailies, mentioned the Presidential Villa one of the debtors on its list of 86 defaulters, claiming a whooping N923,873 million.

The Statement, however, faulted the almost N1 billion claim by AEDC, saying the Villa’s outstanding bill stands at N342, 352, 217.46.

“Contrary to the AEDC’s initial claim of N923million debt in paid advertorial in newspapers, the State House outstanding bill is N342, 352, 217.46, according to a letter by the management of AEDC to the State House Permanent Secretary dated February 14, 2024.

“Having reconciled the position to the satisfaction of both parties, the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has given assurance that the debt will be paid to AEDC before the end of this week.

“Following the example of the Presidency, Chief of Staff also urged other MDAs to reconcile their accounts with AEDC and pay their electricity bills,” the statement reads.

Dollar sales by Deposit Money Banks and other entities at the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market dropped by $252m to $84.1m on Friday.

This represents a 74 percent drop from the $331.1m transactions recorded at the official Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the naira depreciated to N1,537/$ on Friday from N1,498/$ recorded at the close of trading activity on Thursday at the official market.

Analysis of data obtained from FMDQ Security Exchange showed that forex turnover plunged by 74 percent to $84.10m on Friday from $336.11m on Thursday. However, aside from commercial banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria, oil firms and multinationals also sell dollars at NAFEM.

At the parallel market, on Friday, the naira also depreciated to N1,670/$ from N1,600/$ recorded on Thursday amid a demand with a steady demand for the greenback.

Further analysis for the week ending showed that the supply started on a low at $116.11m on Monday; it increased by $292.3m to $381.92m on Tuesday but dropped to $117.87m on Wednesday. On Thursday, the supply increased to $336.11m.

Market experts hinted that the naira depreciation followed a strong demand for dollars by speculators as well as individuals travelling for business, tourism, education and health.

According to currency dealers, the demand for the greenback may not end anytime soon.

The FMDQ report indicated that the banks led others to sell $1.97bn in the first week of the CBN circular which had mandated banks not to exceed a new threshold in their FX prudential guidelines.

In a series of guidelines, the CBN had ordered Deposit Money Banks to sell their excess dollar stock. It also warned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit.

On Thursday, the apex bank released another set of guidelines that stopped banks from paying Personal Travel Allowance to their customers.

In a second circular signed by its Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Hassan Mahmud, it also asked International Oil Companies not to repatriate all their revenue to their parent companies at once. The apex banks also, in the third circular, reviewed its guidelines to stop under-invoicing of exports and over-invoicing of imports.

Nevertheless, despite the Central Bank’s efforts to boost forex supply through various policy interventions, challenges persist in the forex market.

The gap between the rates in the official market and the parallel market is once again widening, raising concerns about the potential resurgence of round-tripping activities.

In response to the circular, banking institutions and IMTOs have begun the implementation, carrying out operational adjustments to accommodate the revised remittance framework by issuing notices to their customers.

A showdown is imminent at the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged plans by members of the dissolved board to return to office.

President Bola Tinubu had on June 19, 2023 dissolved boards of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), including the ICPC.

However, TheCable understands that members of the dissolved board have insisted that the ICPC was not affected by the presidential directive and are set to resume duties on February 19.

Insiders said the affected board members have continued to lobby the presidency through the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) and that of the vice-president that the ICPC board should be excluded from those dissolved.

“Since 19, 2023, the staff of the commission have continued to be notified every week that they are resuming back to the commission the following week,” a source told TheCable.

“A letter purported from the office of SGF was dropped by a representative of the board members last week asking them to return back to the commission to complete their terms of office.

“Since the letter was dropped at the commission, the chairman has been under intense pressure to stop the board members from resuming work on Monday, February 19.”

Another insider informed TheCable that Aliyu Musa, chairman of the commission, has also been seeking to confirm if the board members were resuming as claimed.

“The chairman has been running around from the SGF office to the attorney-general and the chief of staff to the president to confirm the resumption of the board members,” the source said.

“The chairman prefers the board members to come in as ad-hoc board members on part-time and not full-time.

“The 12 board members are also insisting on resuming on Monday and have made demands which included the payment of their eight months salary arrears (the period they were suspended).

“Each board member earns over N2 million monthly. This implies over N24 million monthly for the period they were dissolved.

“And in eight months, the total salaries of these 12 board members is over N192 million.

“Some of the board members have also demanded the return of the cars allocated to them which were collected when the board was dissolved.

“The main issue is that the salaries of the 12 board members have not been factored into the 2024 budget of the ICPC as the board was dissolved during the preparation and defence of the budget.”

Azuka Ogugua, spokesperson of the ICPC, is yet to respond to enquiries by TheCable.

In 2000, when the commission was created by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, there were six full-time board members but ex-President Muhammadu Buhari increased the number to 12.

“Buhari made them 12 board members and is draining resources, and we have plenty of things to do with resources,” an official of the commission, who did not want to be named, said.

Bandits have reportedly killed no fewer than nine persons in Kwasam community, Kauru LGA and Gwada community in Igabi LGA of Kaduna State.

The bandits also reportedly abducted 35 others, including a retired Director of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), his brother and the brother’s wife.

They were said to have also injured nine people during the attack in the two LGAs.

The retired CBN Director was identified as Zakariya Markus

The breakdown showed that six persons were killed, five abducted and two injured in Kauru LGA while three persons were killed, seven injured, and 30 others kidnapped in Igabi LGA of the State.

According to sources, the incident occurred penultimate Friday around 10pm when bandits invaded the community.

Sources said the bandits picked two people who, at gun point, led them to the residence of the retired CBN staff and abducted him.

“Banidits moved to his family house, abducted his brother and the brother’s wife. Residents rushed out in an attempt to rescue victims but the bandits fired at them killing six, injuring two.

“Those killed, include Danmasani Gwaska, Mrs. Giwa John, Kapishi Barmu, Ganya Ubangida, Shigama Salisu and Gani Magawata.

“Those kidnapped include Mr. Zakariya Markus (retired CBN director), Mr. Monday Markus (Younger brother to the retired CBN staff), Mrs. Monday Markus (wife of Monday), Mr. Alhamdu Makeri’s son and Baban Fati of Kauru.”

Kaduna Governor Uba Sani has appealed for aggressive military operations against bandits across the State following the attacks.

The Governor sent his condolences to the families that lost their loved ones in Igabi and Kauru LGAs.

He spoke through the Overseeing Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, at Gwada and Kerawa villages in Igabi LGA, during an on-the-spot assessment of the security situation in the area, in the company of the Garrison Commander, One Division Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Muhammad Kana, other military commanders and security forces working.

He said: “We are here on behalf of Governor Uba Sani to first of all condole with you over the lives lost in Kerawa and Sabon Birni Wards in Igabi LGA and also Kwassam, Kurera and Kan Makama communities in Kauru LGA.

“May Almighty God grant the deceased eternal rest, and grant a speedy recovery to the injured.

“I want to assure you that we are also here for an assessment of the security situation and as you can see, troops are presently carrying out operations in these locations, to which you have attested. The Governor of Kaduna State is not relenting in his efforts, and he is also working towards sustained aggressive military operations in the frontline locations and emerging fronts like Kauru LGA.”

The most wanted suspected kidnapper in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Dahiru Adamu, has been arrested.

The development comes barely three days after the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, placed a N20 million bounty on him and one Abu Ibrahim.

The two terrorists are said to be causing mayhem in the nation’s capital, kidnapping and killing unsuspecting citizens.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the arrest to DAILY POST on Friday.

The PPRO said the suspect was arrested when operatives of the Command raided two kidnappers’ camps bordering Nasarawa and the FCT, via Kuje Area Council, on Thursday.

The suspected kidnapper was said to be the leader of the kidnapping syndicate paraded by the Police Command on Wednesday.

By Henry Umoru


FRESH facts are emerging from Tuesday’s closed session between the Senate and leadership of the nation’s security apparatus.

This is just as the security chiefs led by the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, gave the Senators the achievements made so far by security agencies.

A very ranking Senator who was at the closed door session that lasted nine hours on Tuesday, told Journalists yesterday that though the lawmakers went into the meeting with a lot of misgivings and apprehension, the security chiefs allayed their fears and earned the confidence of the lawmakers.

The NSA, ministers and security chiefs took turns to give the lawmakers vivid accounts of their exploits and how they have averted major terrorist attack since President Bola Tinub took over in May last year.

The Senator who noted that Ribadu gave the lead presentation by taking them through different components of the security challenges, explaining how they met the situation and the changes so far, however spoke about how wanton violence has significantly gone down thus pushing down number of casualties from attacks by armed groups.

The NSA was said to have told the lawmakers that Boko Haram and ISWAP now resort to planting IEDs showing that they were regressing from their comfort zones, which he attributed the success in the fight against the Boko Haram to the gallantry of troops and the hard work of the Borno State Government.

According to the Senator, Ribadu who also told the lawmakers that 20 gunrunning networks were smashed and over 5,000 military grade weapons were seized and destroyed by government agencies, also disclosed to them that sporadic incidences of kidnapping being reported in most parts of the country were pointers that security kidnapping and banditry have now evolved into economic crimes substituting armed robbery as an easy means of making money through criminal means.

The NSA said that the country was today witnessing significant increase in oil production and ralative peace in the South-East region, which was hitherto bedevilled by activities of gunmen, due to concerted military and non-military steps,

The Senator said, “The Chief of Air Staff also gave an excellent account of how the air component of the war complements the work of troops on ground. He mentioned how they killed two key leaders of bandits Ali Kacalla and Yellow Janburos and how that has helped to halt interstate movement of bandits and logistics especially around Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara States.”

The ranking lawmaker who recalled the Inspector General of Police also spoke about routing out criminals in the suburbans of Abuja and how his men have checkmated activities of one-chance criminals in the capital city.

Despite the satisfaction expressed by most lawmakers who spoke at the session, others pointed areas of operational lapses that deserve attention and urged the service chiefs to ensure harmony and cooperation for maximum success.

The lawmakers also tasked the minister of finance to prioritise release of funds to security establishments.

It would be recalled that at end of the marathon session on Tuesday, the Senate leadership expressed confidence in the leadership of the security sector and applauded their effort in addressing the security concerns.