₦airaland Forum

Transsion Holdings, the company formerly known as TECNO TELECOM LIMITED, established in July 2006, is a high-tech company specializing in the R&, production, sale and service of mobile communication products. After years of development, TRANSSION has become an important part of the mobile phone industry and one of the major mobile phone manufacturers in the world. Currently, it has full ownership of three famous mobile phone brands TECNO, itel and Infinix, and an after-sales service brand Carlcare.

We are recruiting to fill the following positions below in Lagos State:

1.) HR Manager

Click here for details

2.) Marketing Manager

Click here for details

3.) Sales Representative

Click here for details

4.) Material Control Regional Assistant

Click here for details

5.) Graduate Personnel

Click here for details

6.) Content Operations Specialist

Click here for details

7.) Graduate Sales Promoter

Click here for details

Job Requirements

Sound working knowledge of relevant local Labor Laws
5 years and above experience in practical HR C&B and Staffing operation
At least 2 years or more in a HR management role.
Proven skills in project management and people management
Strong problem solving and decision making capabilities
Staff Management and recruitment highly desirable.
Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should:

[url=https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/hr-manager-at-transsion-686558597/?trkInfo=searchKeywordString%3A%2CsearchLocationString%3A%252C%2B%2Cvertical%3Ajobs%2CpageNum%3A2%2Cposition%3A3%2CMSRPsearchId%3Ab62dd65f-c16f-400a-8578-97155d51736b&refId=b62dd65f-c16f-400a-8578-97155d51736b&trk=jobs_jserp_job_listing_text]CLICK HERE TO APPLY
[/url]
https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/25/transsion-holdings-fresh-graduate-exp-job-recruitment/

Justice Mojisola Dada of an Ikeja Special Offences Court, Lagos has just declared the Chairman of Innoson Motors, Innocent Chukwuma wanted for fraud.

Today happens to be the 5th proposed arraignment of Innoson, who again was not physically present in court to take his plea in the charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Chukwuma and his company, Innoson Motors Nigeria Ltd, were accused by the EFCC of obtaining properties by false pretence, containers of the motorcycle, spare parts and raw materials property of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) from Mitsui OSK Lines Limited, Apapa, Lagos.

The EFCC attempts to arraign Innoson and his company on a four-count charge of conspiracy to obtain property by false pretences, stealing and forgery.

Justice Dada declared Innoson wanted following an application by the EFCC lawyer, A. B. C Ozioku to arrest the 2nd defendant and enforce the bench warrant issued by the court on February 9, 2018.

It could be recalled that recalls that Justice Dada had on February 9 issued a bench warrant for Innoson’s arrest following his failures to appear in court on January 17 and February 9.

The EFCC also alleged that Innoson fraudulently induced staff of Mitsui OSK and Maersk Line to deliver to them via their clearing agents the goods which were imported from China in the name of GTB by falsely pretending that they were authorised by the bank to clear the goods.

The offences, according to the EFCC, are in contravention of Sections 1(1)(b), 1(3), and 8(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2016 and Sections 309(9), 388, 465 and 467(1)(j) of the Criminal Code of Lagos State 2003.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/24/breaking-court-declares-innoson-motors-boss-wanted-for-fraud/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Nigerians may soon begin to pay higher tariffs on calls and data as the telecommunications companies in the country brace up for a new cyber security levy to be implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This is coming on the heels of a directive from the CBN to all banks on the collection of 0.005 per cent levy on all electronic transactions into a National Cyber Security Fund.

Section 44 of the Cybercrime Prohibition and Prevention Act 2015, which the CBN seeks to implement, states that “there shall be paid and credited into the Fund established under subsection (1) of this section and domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria: a levy of 0.005 per cent of all electronic transactions by the businesses specified in the second schedule to this Act.”

Businesses affected by this charge include GSM service providers – MTN, Glo, Airtel, 9Mobile etc. and all telecommunication companies; Internet service providers; banks and other financial institutions; insurance companies and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

However, speaking at a press conference in Lagos yesterday, the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, said the implementation of the levy is ill-timed, considering the fact that the telecom operators are currently battling with multiple taxation, which has risen from 26 in 2015 to 38 under the current administration.

“At this point, if the CBN decides to go ahead with the implementation, we will have no choice but to pass the cost to the subscribers. Nigerians should be ready to pay more for calls and data subscriptions,” he said.

Teniola added that with the additional burden, the operators might also consider downsizing their staff strength to stay afloat.

ATCON, which is a professional, non-profit, non-political umbrella organization of telecommunications companies of Nigeria, said all its members have concluded that the only way to survive with the new levy is to increase tariff across board. “The eventual implementation of this levy of 0.005 per cent would cripple, if not render useless government and private sector efforts to speed up the broadband penetration in Nigeria and our association has a mandate to protect the investment in the telecom industry from undue pressure from the government in the form of yet additional burden on our members that are already overtaxed by all tiers of governments,” the ATCON President added.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/23/mtn-glo-airtel-to-increase-data-call-tariffs/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Hameed Ali, Comptroller General of Customs on Tuesday, said it is only Nigerians that are lazy that are complaining of hunger, considering the strides of President Muhammadu Buhari within three years.

He said this when he led members of the Buhari Support Group(BSG) to declare their support for the 2019 presidential ambition of President Buhari at the State House,Abuja.

“What more can we say in terms of growth of wealth. People say we are hungry, of course the lazy must be hungry because if you do not work hard, manna will not fall from heaven. So when people say we are hungry, there was never a time in Nigeria that food is dropped in the mouth of the people and there can never be,”the CG said.

The Comptroller General of Customs who attracted controversies for remaining devaint to abide by the instructions of the National Assembly members to appear in his uniforms, said left for him, Buhari should take a deserved rest from politics but considering the level of decay occassioned by previous administrations, he should go for additional 4 years.

He said,“I can enumerate what you have done in just three years of your administration but three is not enough to undo what was done in 16 years. The destruction, the monumental stealing that we have witnessed, the destruction of our structures and our system, it takes more than eight years to be able to address them and I believe in three years you have done wonderfully well.

“I have said it and I will repeat it here Mr. President with all due respect, at 70 plus, with a good retirement benefits and with your house in Daura, if I were you I will see no reason to be in this arena. But why are you here? It is because you love this great country. You left your comfort to serve Nigeria and that is why for those of us who love you for who you are said we must follow you and ensure that your second term in this country becomes a reality.

“We want to say on behalf of Nigerians that we are solidly behind you in this second term bid. People may ask why are you so passionate about change. why were you so committed in 2014 and why are you so committed in 2018, this is because you are a man of integrity, of honesty and above all Mr. President you love this great nation”.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/22/only-lazy-people-are-crying-of-hunger-under-biharis-govt-customs-cg-ali/

- SAYS MOVE’LL TO STOP NAIRA SLIDE, INFLATION


With election spending looming and the late passage of the 2018 budget, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has vowed to monitor and control spending in the coming months to save the economy from the adverse consequences of expansionary fiscal measures.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja: “We will be in control and monitor these activities and ensure that as these activities begin to unfold we, as monetary policy authority, will take action that will make sure that the adverse consequences that will arise from these expansionary activities will not impede our activities of bringing inflation down and achieve a stable exchange rate.”

That is why the MPC decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 14%, the CBN boss said.

The CBN Governor noted that “there are expansionary fiscal activities that we see, beginning from around May or June, this year; the fact that at this time we are still spending on 2017 budget; 2018 budget will hopefully kick in around June/July. There will be an acceleration to the rate of spending and we also expect that there will be a lot of election spending.”

According to Emefiele, the MPC was worried over the potential effects of expansionary fiscal budget of 2018 and the liquidity impact of rising FAAC distribution, following increase in the prices of crude oil as well as the build- up in election related spending towards the 2019 general elections.

These, he said, “expectedly, are meant to expand the economy and spur growth, which is commendable, but because price and monetary stability is our strong mandate, we do know that those expansionary fiscal measures will eventually lead to inflationary tendencies and, if that happens, may reverse the course of inflation upwards and put pressure on the foreign exchange market.”

As a result of these findings and scary scenarios, the MPC, Emefiele said, “strongly deliberated and thought there was a need to tighten in anticipation of the occurrence of these expansionary activities”.

On the Nigeria/China currency swap, the CBN Governor said the details of the framework would be released next week.

As a first step, he said, “the settlement banks have been chosen; they will be Standard Chartered Bank, and Stanbic Bank that has its own affiliate bank ICBC that is the Investment and Commercial Bank of China that will be the correspondent at the Chinese end”.

Emefiele assured Nigerians that the deal “can never be negative to Nigeria”. According to him, “how it works is that it will just operate the way normal Form M or LC (Letters of Credit) transactions happen”,

“Under the China-Nigeria deal, what we are saying is that Form M or whatever name it will be called by the time the framework is released, we will begin to see that Chinese suppliers will begin, based on the negotiations with their Nigerian importers, to issue invoices in Reminbi and if you consider that China is Nigeria’s largest trading partner, controlling close to a market share of about 25%, what that means is that all things being equal, by the time we conclude the framework, we should see invoices more in Reminbi rather than in the traditional dollar.”

In Emefiele’s view, “it is going to be strongly positive for Nigerian imports and also for Nigerians; that is what we expect and we will ensure that we achieve that”.

The CBN chief maintained that “this was a negotiation that was painstakingly drawn, and I am optimistic that Nigeria will reap a positive impact from this and we do expect that by the time the framework is released, that Nigeria will end up being the Reminbi trade hub in the West African sub-region” .

His optimism is based on the fact that “there are only three countries in Africa that are currently enjoying the swap deal between China and themselves (South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria); so, there is a lot of scope to go through it and for Nigeria to benefit from this arrangement and particularly not just in Nigeria but also West African sub-region.”

Asked how the apex bank hopes to creatively boost credit to the real sector, the CBN governor said that one of the creative ways to encourage Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to increase credit to the real sector of the economy, will be to “come up with some prudentials that will relate loan/deposit ratio with the level of cash reserve that a bank pools so as to direct a bank or compensate the bank that has done a lot of work in boosting its loan/deposit ratio through compensating them”.

The compensation, he said, will come in the form of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) benefits to the DMB.

“Those who prefer to keep liquidity and trade in government securities or direct those to the FX market rather than grant a loan to the real sector will be penalised,” he added.

At the end of the MPC meeting, it was decided that MPR will be retained at 14 per cent, with one member voting for a reduction; CRR was also retained at 22.5 per cent and the liquidity ratio of 30 per cent; Asymmetric corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.

According to the meeting’s communique, foreign reserve stood at $47.79 billion as at May 18, 2018.

The MPC urged the CBN to sustain this momentum and continue to boost investor confidence in the economy.

The Committee believes that growth remains largely fragile and could benefit from further reforms and stimulus.

In this regard, the MPC urged the various levels of government to accelerate the settlement of contractors’ debts and salary arrears as well as facilitate the quick implementation of the 2018 Federal Government budget.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/23/cbn-vows-to-monitor-control-2019-election-spending/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

A commissioner’s wife and six children have been abducted by gunmen in Zamfara in the early hours of Tuesday at Gurbin Bore village in the state.

The abductors reportedly attacked the home of the Commissioner of Youths, Sports and Skills Acquisition, Alhaji Abdullahi Gurbin Bore, in the village located in Zurmi Local Government at about 1:30am.

The Commissioner, who confirmed the attack to newsmen in Gusau, said the abductors took away his wife and their three children, and three other relatives.

“They have not yet demanded for any ransom from us. In fact, we have not discussed anything with them, but we have reported the matter to security agencies,” he said.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/22/breaking-gunmen-kidnap-commissioners-wife-6-children-in-zamfara/

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There appears to be no end in sight for the Nigeria’s electricity crisis as a system adequacy report submitted by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has indicated that Nigeria would continue to suffer from severe grid electricity shortage in the next 10 years.

The report said this would happen because under the most optimistic assumptions of high technical availability, high rainfalls, and low demand growth, energy deficit in the country would remain at a level of around 3,000 megawatts (MW).

The country, it explained would however experience an average increase in power demands by 15,440MW and 24,551MW in 2027.

The report indicated that the studies was undertaken by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) perhaps for the TCN, and that it forecasted for periods up to 2027.

“Nigeria will continue to suffer from a severe deficit in electrical energy from the main supply grid in the next 10 years. Even under most optimistic assumptions (high technical availability, high rainfalls, low demand growth), this energy deficit will remain at a level of around 3000MWh/h. In addition to insufficient generation capacity, constraints in the gas supplies will remain very important. Given the expected available generation capacity, gas constraints will continue to limit the available energy until 2025. The capability of the transmission network was calculated under the conditions of all active generators in service and the load distributed according to the MYTO allocation5.

The planned generation and transmission projects were considered. The capability of the 330kV network is limited by thermal as well as voltage stability constraints,” said the report.

Based on its findings as far back as 2015, it stated: “The adequacy of the generation and transmission systems in 2015 is summarised as follows: Nigeria suffered from a severe shortage of electrical energy. Based on an estimated demand of on-grid loads, the Energy Not Supplied (ENS) amounted to 19.3TWh, which represents a continuous average power of 2208MWh/h. The energy shortage was largely due to constraints in the gas-supply chain. These shortages led to an average deficit of 1512 MWh/h. Only some 77 per cent of the available energy from the power plants is utilised. The remaining 23 per cent is not utilised due to problems in the entire supply chain, including generation, transmission and distribution,” he added.

Continuing, it explained: “In addition to the energy shortage, there was a severe shortage in reliably available generation capacity (RANGC). RANGC represents the amount of generation that is available for 99 per cent of the time, irrespective of any gas and water constraints.

“It amounted to 5495MW. The gap between RANGC and peak demand amounted to some 2375MW, when using the same demand estimate. The shortage was not only due to insufficient installed generation capacity, but also due to poor availability of the generators. The primary frequency regulation of the power generating plants was not working in 2015, causing the statutory frequency limits to be exceeded every day. Six total and four partial Collapses occurred, which is very high by international standards,” said the report.

On transmission it stated: “Transmission constraints frequently limited the power flows in the network. Generation in the south-east frequently had to be reduced due to local transmission constraints and due to constraints in the lines from the Benin towards Lagos areas.

“Whenever the availability of generation was high, the flow from Shiroro to Kaduna had to be limited to ensure that voltage stability would be maintained in operation. As a result, the power allocated to the northern Discos (according to MYTO) could frequently not be met. Furthermore, a redistribution of power to the southern Discos often failed, ultimately requiring the generation in the south-eastern network to be reduced,” the report.

Accordingly, the report quantifies deficiencies in the generation and transmission systems, and provided information that can be used as a basis for developing solutions.

It thus added that: “The energy deficit could only be resolved with a massive addition of more power plants as considered by the generation expansion plan of this study. However, this will be difficult to achieve within the analysed time frame. If the expansion of gas-fired plants were to be accelerated to meet the demand, then the supply of gas would likewise have to increase.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/22/nigeriall-continue-to-suffer-power-crises-till-2028-tcn/

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.95 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the first three months of this year.

The National Bureau of Statistics stated this on Monday in its GDP report for the first quarter of 2018.

“This shows a stronger growth when compared with the first quarter of 2017 which recorded a growth of -0.91 per cent, indicating an increase of 2.87 per cent points,” the NBS said.

It said compared to the preceding quarter, there was a decline of -0.16 percentage points from 2.11 per cent.

“Quarter on quarter, real GDP growth was -13.40 per cent,” the bureau said, adding that the oil production estimates for the third and fourth quarters of 2017 had been revised and oil GDP for those quarters had been adjusted accordingly.

The NBS said, “Still on the first quarter of 2018, aggregate GDP stood at N28,464,322.01m in nominal terms. This performance is higher when compared to the first quarter of 2017, which recorded a nominal GDP aggregate of N26,028,356.03m, thus presenting a positive year-on-year nominal growth rate of 9.36 per cent.

“This rate of growth is, however, lower relative to growth recorded in Q1 2017 by -7.70 per cent points at 17.06 per cent but higher than the proceeding quarter by 2.14 per cent points at 7.22 per cent. To give a clearer depiction, the Nigerian economy has been classified broadly into the oil and non-oil sectors.”

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/21/nbs-latest-report-says-nigeria-economy-grew-by-1-95-in-q1-2018/

IGP’s ‘transmission’ video: Police denies manhunt for journalist – The Kano police state command says it is not on a manhunt for Aminu Nurudeen, a Liberty Television reporter, said to have published a video of Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police (IGP), struggling to read a speech at an event.

Nurudeen is said to have gone into hiding after the Kano police invited him for questioning.

In a statement on Saturday, Musa Majiya, spokesman of the Kano police command, said no journalist was invited over the video clip.

Majiya said the command maintained a cordial relationship with the state’s chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

“The attention of Kano state police command is drawn to trending headlines in some national dailies and online media that the ’Police Launched prove, threaten bloggers arrest’ over IGP’s trending video,” the statement read.

“The command hereby debunks the news as false in its entirety and an act by mischief makers.

“No journalist was arrested nor invited by the command for interrogation over the video clip. It is crystal clear that the ommand maintain cordial relationship with the state chapter of the NUJ, the correspondence Chapel and all bloggers.

“The media outlets responsible for the report had their correspondents here in Kano but none consulted the command to verify the news. No manhunt of any journalist what so ever by the Kano police command, please.”

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/19/igps-transmission-video-police-denies-manhunt-for-journalist/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Nigeria Federal Fire Service (FFS) Massive Nationwide Recruitment 2018
The Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB) is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates for full time appointments into the following vacant positions below in the Federal Fire Service (FFS):
Job Title: Assistant Inspector of Fire (AIF), General Duty - CONPASS 06

Location: Nigeria
Category: Inspectorate Cadre

Academic Qualification
o Applicants must possess National Diploma (ND), NCE or Advanced NABTEB obtained from recognized institutions.
Statutory Requirements
o Applicants must be Nigerians by birth
o Applicants must possess the requisite qualifications and certificates. Any certificate or qualification not presented and accepted at the recruitment centre shall not be accepted after the recruitment
o Applicants must be fit and present certificates of medical fitness from government recognized hospitals
o Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offences;
o Applicants must not be drug addicts or members of any secret society or cult
o Applicants must not be financially embarrassed
o Applicants must be between ages of 18 and 30 years
o Applicants’ heights must not be less than 1.65m for male and 1.60m for female
o Applicants’ chest measurement must not be less than 0.87 for men
o Computer literacy will be of added advantage.
Application Closing Date
29th June, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click Here to Start Application
https://fedfire.gov.ng/rportal/welcome/auth

Note
o Candidates should note that this Application is absolutely free!
o Candidates are advised to print out the Referee Forms which must be dully completed and presented for sighting during screening and documentation
o Candidates are also advised to print out and guide their acknowledgement slip which will continuously be on demand throughout the exercise;
o Candidates are advised against multiple registrations which may lead to disqualification.
Job Title: Inspector of Fire (IF), Nursing - CONHESS 06

Location: Nigeria
Category: Inspectorate Cadre

Academic Qualification
o Applicants must be registered Nurses (RN), Registered Midwives (RM) or Registered Nurses/Midwives (RNM) obtained from recognized institutions.
Statutory Requirements
o Applicants must be Nigerians by birth
o Applicants must possess the requisite qualifications and certificates. Any certificate or qualification not presented and accepted at the recruitment centre shall not be accepted after the recruitment
o Applicants must be fit and present certificates of medical fitness from government recognized hospitals
o Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offences;
o Applicants must not be drug addicts or members of any secret society or cult
o Applicants must not be financially embarrassed
o Applicants must be between ages of 18 and 30 years
o Applicants’ heights must not be less than 1.65m for male and 1.60m for female
o Applicants’ chest measurement must not be less than 0.87 for men
o Computer literacy will be of added advantage.
Application Closing Date
29th June, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click Here to Start Application
https://fedfire.gov.ng/rportal/welcome/auth

Note
o Candidates should note that this Application is absolutely free!
o Candidates are advised to print out the Referee Forms which must be dully completed and presented for sighting during screening and documentation
o Candidates are also advised to print out and guide their acknowledgement slip which will continuously be on demand throughout the exercise;
o Candidates are advised against multiple registrations which may lead to disqualification.
Job Title: Fire Assistant III (FA III) - CONPASS 03

Location: Nigeria
Category: Assistant Cadre

Requirements
o Applicants must be holders of GCE Ordinary Level, SSCE/NECO or its equivalent with a minimum of three (3) credits in not more than two (2) sittings, which should include at least English or Mathematics.
Statutory Requirements
o Applicants must be Nigerians by birth.
o Applicants must possess the requisite qualifications and certificates. Any certificate or qualification not presented and accepted at the recruitment centre shall not be accepted after the recruitment
o Applicants must be fit and present certificates of medical fitness from government recognized hospitals
o Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offences;
o Applicants must not be drug addicts or members of any secret society or cult
o Applicants must not be financially embarrassed
o Applicants must be between ages of 18 and 30 years
o Applicants’ heights must not be less than 1.65m for male and 1.60m for female
o Applicants’ chest measurement must not be less than 0.87 for men
o Computer literacy will be of added advantage.
Application Closing Date
29th June, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click Here to Start Application
https://fedfire.gov.ng/rportal/welcome/auth

Job Title: Fire Assistant II (FA II) - CONPASS 04

Location: Nigeria
Category: Assistant Cadre

Requirements
o Applicants must be holders of GCE Ordinary Level, SSCE/NECO or its equivalent with a minimum of five (5) credits in not more than two (2) sittings, which should include Mathematics and English Language.
Statutory Requirements For Recruitment
o Applicants must be Nigerians by birth.
o Applicants must possess the requisite qualifications and certificates. Any certificate or qualification not presented and accepted at the recruitment centre shall not be accepted after the recruitment
o Applicants must be fit and present certificates of medical fitness from government recognized hospitals
o Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offences;
o Applicants must not be drug addicts or members of any secret society or cult
o Applicants must not be financially embarrassed
o Applicants must be between ages of 18 and 30 years
o Applicants’ heights must not be less than 1.65m for male and 1.60m for female
o Applicants’ chest measurement must not be less than 0.87 for men
o Computer literacy will be of added advantage.
Application Closing Date
29th June, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click Here to Start Application
https://fedfire.gov.ng/rportal/welcome/auth
Job Title: Senior Inspector of Fire (SIF) - CONPASS 08

Location: Nigeria
Category: Inspectorate Cadre

Academic Qualification
o Applicants must possess Higher National Diploma or its equivalent from recognized Polytechnics/Institutions.
Statutory Requirements
o Applicants must be Nigerians by birth
o Applicants must possess the requisite qualifications and certificates. Any certificate or qualification not presented and accepted at the recruitment centre shall not be accepted after the recruitment
o Applicants must be fit and present certificates of medical fitness from government recognized hospitals
o Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offences;
o Applicants must not be drug addicts or members of any secret society or cult
o Applicants must not be financially embarrassed
o Applicants must be between ages of 18 and 30 years
o Applicants’ heights must not be less than 1.65m for male and 1.60m for female
o Applicants’ chest measurement must not be less than 0.87 for men
o Computer literacy will be of added advantage.
Application Closing Date
29th June, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click Here to Start Application
https://fedfire.gov.ng/rportal/welcome/auth
Job Title: Assistant Superintendent of Fire II (ASF II) - CONPASS 08

Location: Nigeria
Category: Superintendent Cadre

Requirement
o Applicants must be holders of Bachelor's Degree or its equivalent from recognized Universities.
Statutory Requirements
o Applicants must be Nigerians by birth.
o Applicants must possess the requisite qualifications and certificates. Any certificate or qualification not presented and accepted at the recruitment centre shall not be accepted after the recruitment
o Applicants must be fit and present certificates of medical fitness from government recognized hospitals
o Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offences;
o Applicants must not be drug addicts or members of any secret society or cult
o Applicants must not be financially embarrassed
o Applicants must be between ages of 18 and 30 years
o Applicants’ heights must not be less than 1.65m for male and 1.60m for female
o Applicants’ chest measurement must not be less than 0.87 for men
o Computer literacy will be of added advantage.
Application Closing Date
29th June, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click Here to Start Application
https://fedfire.gov.ng/rportal/welcome/auth
Job Title: Assistant Superintendent of Fire I (ASF I) - CONPASS 09

Location: Nigeria
Category: Superintendent Cadre

Requirement
o Applicants must possess a Master's Degree or membership of a recognized professional body.
Statutory Requirements
o Applicants must be Nigerians by birth.
o Applicants must possess the requisite qualifications and certificates. Any certificate or qualification not presented and accepted at the recruitment centre shall not be accepted after the recruitment
o Applicants must be fit and present certificates of medical fitness from government recognized hospitals
o Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offences;
o Applicants must not be drug addicts or members of any secret society or cult
o Applicants must not be financially embarrassed
o Applicants must be between ages of 18 and 30 years
o Applicants’ heights must not be less than 1.65m for male and 1.60m for female
o Applicants’ chest measurement must not be less than 0.87 for men
o Computer literacy will be of added advantage.
Application Closing Date
29th June, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click Here to Start Application
https://fedfire.gov.ng/rportal/welcome/auth

Note
o Candidates are advised to print out the Referee Forms which must be dully completed and presented for sighting during screening and documentation
o Candidates are also advised to print out and guide their acknowledgement slip which will continuously be on demand throughout the exercise;
o Candidates are advised against multiple registrations which may lead to disqualification.
o Candidates should note that this application is absolutely free!

Read more @ https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/18/nigeria-federal-fire-service-ffs-massive-nationwide-recruitment-2018/

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) have approved new administrative sanctions regime against banks and their staff who fail to comply with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.

The new rule, signed by CBN Director, Financial Policy and Regulations, Kelvin Amugo, requires that where the Board of a financial institution, a director or officer responsible for ensuring anti-money laundering compliance with any relevant provision of these regulations has been penalised in three consecutive examination cycles and the breach continues, the CBN may suspend or remove the Board, director, or officer of that institution.

The framework released at the weekend also spelt out dissuasive monetary sanctions against Banks and Other Financial Institutions as well as their staff and Boards that fail to comply with the set rules.

The new rule, the CBN said, is in line with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations 35 on effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) 2007 Mutual Evaluation recommendation that Nigeria’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) sanctions regime should be reviewed and made to be proportionate and dissuasive.

The administrative sanctions regime has been gazetted to give it legal effect and ensure compliance with FATF and GIABA requirements. The gazetted regulation was signed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

The action also aligns with the powers conferred on OAGF by Section 23 (2) (e) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) and are made in furtherance of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and Central Bank of Nigeria (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism for Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria) Regulations, 2013.

Amugo said the sanctions given to any bank that violates anti-money laundering regulations will depend on how quickly, efficiently and effectively the financial institution or person concerned in its management brought the contravention to the attention of the CBN or any other relevant regulatory authority to the crime.

It will also depend on the degree of co-operation with CBN examiners or other supervisory agency during the examination; any remedial step taken when the contravention was identified, including disciplinary action taken against the staff involved, where appropriate, addressing any systemic failure and taking action designed to ensure that similar problem do not arise in the future and the likelihood that the same type of contravention will reoccur where no administrative sanction is imposed and whether the contravention was admitted or denied.

The new rule also requires that any bank that fails to establish written AML/CFT policies and procedures will attract N20 million fine; failure to approve the AML/CFT policies and procedures will attract N1 million fine on each member of the board and N20 million for the bank.

Also, failure to review/update the AML/CFT policies and procedures at least every three years will attract N750,000 fine on the Executive Compliance Officer in the first instance and N750,000 for each year that the contravention continues.

It will also attract N500,000 on the Chief Compliance Officer in the first instance and N500,000 for each year that the contravention continues and N5million on the bank in the first instance and N1,000,000 for each year that the contravention continues.

Also, failure by a bank to communicate the AML/CFT programme of the organisation to employees will attract N750,000 fine on the Executive Compliance Officer and N500,000 on the Chief Compliance Officer as well as N10 million on the bank.

Failure of the Board or its Committee to supervise and ensure the effective implementation of the AML/CFT programme will attract N500,000 on each member of the Board and N10 million on the bank, among other sanctions.

The regulation requires that the Central Bank of Nigeria (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism for Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria) Regulations, 2013 will include administrative sanctions and penalties as listed out under the Schedule to these Regulations. Also, the administrative sanctions will be imposed after the examination of a financial institution and observance of contraventions by CBN Examiners or the recommendation of relevant agencies.

In determining the sanctions to apply, all the circumstances of the case, including the nature and seriousness of the contravention, conduct of the regulated financial institution or person concerned in its management after the contravention, previous record of the financial institution or person concerned, shall be considered.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/money-laundering-cbn-to-sack-non-complaint-banks-board-staff/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

NAFDAC on Saturday lifted the shutdown order on three companies who were closed on May 7, for production of codeine cough syrups have been lifted and the normal company operations could resume.

The companies include the Emzor Pharmaceuticals Ind. Ltd, Lagos, Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Limited and Bioraj Pharmaceutical Limited in Ilorin, Kwara .

According to a statement from the agency, the Director-General, NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the directive following meetings held with the companies and its directorates of Investigation and Enforcement, I&E, Drug Evaluation Research, DER, and Narcotics and Controlled Substances (NCS).

According to NAFDAC, the production of codeine syrup is to be stopped immediately until further notice while investigations continue.

“Therefore, the hold placed on the active pharmaceutical ingredient and the already made codeine syrups stands. NAFDAC will monitor the compliance.

“All codeine products are to be recalled and the process verified through audit trail verified by NAFDAC

“Embargo has been placed on new applications for permit or renewals for the importation of codeine as an active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations, i.e., NAFDAC will not issue any permit until further notice

“The companies have been charged with administrative fees that are commensurate with the respective violations,” the statement said.

NAFDAC said that it would hold a stakeholders meeting on the codeine crisis in a few days to develop a road map for the supply chain distribution and the future of codeine syrup manufacturing.

The agency also noted that the stakeholders meeting was in line with the Minister of Health pronouncements in his press release on the codeine crisis.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that NAFDAC said it had clamped down on the three companies due to their inability to provide required documents for NAFDAC officials during an inspection of the facilities on May 2 and 3 at Ilorin and Lagos.

Earlier, the Federal Ministry of Health had announced a ban on the production and import of cough syrup containing codeine. (NAN)

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/breaking-nafdac-reopens-emzor-others-amidst-codeine-controversy/

The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, on Thursday, disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is the only one in Africa without a board of directors.

According to the Senator, the situation is worrisome as it had adversely affected the ability and capacity of the apex bank in playing required pivotal role in the nation’s economy.

Rising through order 43 to make the lamentation on the floor of the Senate, Mr Sani pleaded with the upper legislative chamber to confirm the appointment of any nominee for that purpose forwarded to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “I stand here to make a personal appeal, an appeal to the conscience and support of this senate over the issue of the central bank of Nigeria.

“Mr. President, Nigeria Central Bank is the only central bank in the whole of Africa without a board.

“The CBN is the most important economic fulcrum of our country. I can understand that we collectively here stood to make a position to suspend the screening of nominees but I think we look at the issue of the CBN differently and very critically.

“We can appreciate the fact that it has made some progress – progress in terms of stabilizing the economy, progress in terms of stabilizing the naira, and also progress in terms of appreciating our foreign reserve.

“But we should be mindful that our work as a senate will be lessened if we have a board that can perform an institutional oversight to ensure that the bank is run according to due process and according to the best standard both nationally and internationally.

“The CBN board should be screened in the interest of transparency and probity so that we can truly know what is going on within the bank and we can be properly briefed.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/cbn-only-central-bank-in-africa-without-board-shehu-sani/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Gambia is selling several planes and a fleet of luxury cars bought by former president Yahya Jammeh as it seeks to reduce debt contracted during the former leader’s decades-long rule.

Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, fled Gambia early last year as West African neighbours were poised for military intervention to topple him after he refused to step down following an election loss to current President Adama Barrow.

While most of his people struggled in poverty under one of West Africa’s most oppressive regimes, Jammeh acquired vast wealth.

Much of the wealth he packed into planes and carried with him into exile in Equatorial Guinea.

However, a fleet of vehicles, including several Rolls-Royces with Jammeh’s name embroidered in their red leather headrests, were left behind on the tarmac.

“The fleet of expensive vehicles at State House and the three planes bought by former president Yahya Jammeh have been put on sale,” Finance Minister Amadou Sanneh told the media.

“My ministry will soon start publicising the sales.”

The International Monetary Fund warned Gambia on Wednesday against any new borrowing after its debt stock reached 130 per cent of gross domestic product at the end of last year.

Most of that debt was contracted under Jammeh, either through borrowing or the government’s taking on the liabilities of state-owned enterprises.

“Let me be very clear … it may even go higher because we have not opened the books of the state-owned enterprises,” said Jaroslaw Wieczorek.

Since taking office and discovering government coffers were largely empty, Barrow’s administration has worked to disentangle Gambia’s state finances from Jammeh’s sprawling personal business empire.

Sanneh said last year that around 100 million dollars – more than a third of the government’s annual budget – had been siphoned from state firms.

Barrow set up a commission that visited Jammeh’s many properties to establish an inventory of his possessions with the aim of recovering looted assets.

One estate boasts a mosque, jungle warfare training camp and a vast private safari park.

Investigators have also sought to establish what wealth Jammeh may have stashed abroad.

The process has faced opposition from Jammeh’s political party and supporters, who have accused Barrow’s government of carrying out a witchhunt against the ex-president.

(Reuters/NAN)

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/gambia-sells-ex-presidents-luxury-cars-planes-to-pay-off-debt/

wow

Ms Yewande Sadiku, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), said Nigeria recorded a total of 24.1 billion dollars foreign investment in the last two years.

Sadiku, who made this known at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, said that the commission’s main objective was to promote and position the country to attract foreign investments.

“The foreign capital inflow that came into the country in 2016 was 5.4 billion dollars, and the bulk of it is portfolio investment, while in 2017, it was 12.5 billion dollars.

“In the first quarter of 2018, the inflow was 6.3 billion dollars and this is more than all inflows that came in 2016 and in third quarter in 2017,’’ she said.

According to Sadiku, the commission has a One-Stop Investment Centre as a strategy to streamline investment procedures, provide prompt, efficient and transparent services and coordinate investment-facilitating agencies.

“The centre provides statistical data and information on the Nigerian economy, investment climate, legal and regulatory framework as well as sector and industry specific information.

“All these are to aid existing and prospective investors in making informed business decisions,’’ Sadiku said.

According to her, there is the need for the states to be receptive to attract investors.

Sadiku said that the commission was working with state governments to improve national competitiveness, adding that it would achieve its broad objectives without the involvement of the states.

“The states must be receptive to attract investors because investors go to where they can get attention and a friendly environment,’’ Sadiku said.

Sadiku said the commission had concluded plans to build a database which would showcase opportunities that abound in the states.

According to her, Nigeria has abundant opportunities for investment in priority sectors of agriculture, power, manufacturing, solid minerals, critical infrastructure and waste management.

Sadiku said the commission would build online investment to allow investors access investment opportunities from anywhere.

To this end, she noted that the commission would organise a summit which would hold from May 21 to May 23, in order to attract long term investment into agriculture, transport, power, gas, manufacturing, processing and information and communication technology.

“It will offer a platform for discussing investment needs and goals without the need for investors to travel to various locations in Nigeria to see projects,’’ Sadiki said.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/nigerias-records-24-1bn-foreign-investment-in-2-years/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Michelle55:
guys what's the obsession with lady's big boobs and butts? Ayam not understanding

Flatty back side sighted

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said any bank that deducts monies illegally from a customer’s account for products and services would be forced to refund the money to the customer with interest.

Mr Fada David, Consumer Complaints Management, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

NAN reports that this is sequel to complaints by bank customers within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over excess charges by banks through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawals.

The customers said as a result of the development, they dreaded making withdrawals using other banks ATMs because of the continued charge of N65 for every transaction.

According to the customers, most banks within the city centre have programmed their ATMs to dispense only N10,000 or less per transaction, thus ripping off customers withdrawing more than that amount.

The customers complained that if they had to withdraw N100,000 or more through other banks ATM, it meant they would lose so much money.

They, however, called on the CBN and other relevant authorities to look into the matter so as to help poor Nigerians.

According to David, the Monetary Policy Circular of the CBN gives certain guidelines as to how much should be refunded to customers if excess charges are discovered.

“Part of the punitive measures is that if excess charges are discovered, they are refunded to consumers with interest,” he said.

David, however, assured bank customers that the CBN monitors all banks regularly to make sure that banks do not short-change them.

He also encouraged customers to read the CBN’s Guide to Bank Charges circular to know those charges that their banks were allowed to charge and the correct amount.

“Consumers should consult this document to know how much they are expected to pay for services.

“When you go through it and in a situation where you see charges that you do not understand, you have the right to write your bank and get them to explain what the charges are.

“In a situation where it becomes clear that the customer was charged excessively, the customer should get them to reverse it.

“You have the right to know how much you are charged from operating your account and make sure that the bank only charges the specified amount,” he said.

Also, Mr Oludamola Atanda of the Consumer Education Division, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, urged bank customers to demand for their statement of account monthly.

He said that it would help customers to monitor their accounts closely.

“You have the right to demand for the right product and services. The bank cannot force you to go for a specific product or loan facility. You have the right to choose.

“If they give you a product you do not like, you do not have to take it. Its important for us to understand this.

“There is also the issue of right to privacy. My bank should not share my details with just anybody. For instance, a wife cannot come and say she wants details of her husband’s account.

“Only by court order can an account details by revealed to a third party,” he said.

Atanda said at times, customers complain about certain bank products because they were not properly informed about the products.

“If I am taking a product, my bank has the responsibility to educate me on that product.

“If it is a savings product, a customer should know how it works, how many times to withdraw in a month, how much interest to expect and the minimum deposit on the account.

“We are saying that you have the right to demand good service. Those are the things we want to let customers know,” he said. (NAN)

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/cbn-to-order-banks-to-repay-illegal-charges-with-interest/

see this too - Nigerian Stock Exchange Graduate Trainee Programme (GTP) 2018
https://www.financialwatchngr.com/nigerian-stock-exchange-graduate-trainee-programme-gtp-2018/

The total credit from banks to the economy recorded a decline of N135.8bn from N15.74tn at the end of the fourth quarter of last year to N15.6tn in the first three months of 2018.

This is contained in the banking sector report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

The NBS stated that the total number of staff members in banks decreased by 0.93 per cent from 90,453 in the fourth quarter of 2017 to 89,608 in the first quarter of this year.

It said in the first quarter of this year, the sector recorded a total volume of 457,226,406 transactions valued at N32.48tn.

According to the report, data from electronic payment channels in the Nigeria banking sector revealed that Automated Teller Machine transactions dominated the volume of transactions during the period.

It stated that there were 212,370,853 ATM transactions valued at N1.56tn that were recorded in the first quarter of this year.

The report read in part, “In terms of credit to the private sector, the total value of credit allocated by the banking sector stood at N15.6tn as of Q1 2018.

“Oil and gas and manufacturing sectors got credit allocation of N3.42tn and N2.07tn to record the highest credit allocation as of the period under review.

“As at Q1 2018, the total number of banks’ staff members decreased by 0.93 per cent from 90,453 in Q4 2017 to 89,608.”

Based on analysis of the report, the agricultural sector received N501.6bn; power and energy, N426.5bn; construction, N647.9bn; trade and general commerce, N1.05tn; while credit to government was put at N1.41tn.

In the same vein, the real estate sector received a total loan of N784.2bn; finance, insurance and capital market, N999.4bn; education, N73.48bn; information and communications, N865.32bn; transportation and storage, N291.67n; while other sectors got N384.8bn.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/banks-credit-to-nigerias-economy-declines-by-n136bn-in-q1-2018/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Nigerian government under president Muhammadu Buhari has saved about two hundred billion naira (N2,000,000,000) by eliminating ghost workers from payroll.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo revealed this while highlighting governments efforts in cleaning the federal civil service from corrupt practices.

A tweet posted on the verified Twitter handle @AsoRock, revealed that Osinbajo said this during his keynote address at the on-going Open Government Week, which started on Monday (today).

The VP said the government had put in place the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit, which helps to keep a check on the federal payroll and pensions.


https://www.financialwatchngr.com/nigeria-saved-n200bln-from-ghost-workers-osinbajo-says/

Determined to recover the cash realized from the sale of 61 assets traced to a former Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Oceanic Bank, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has written to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the United Kingdom to probe some suspects.

Besides, the anti-graft commission has identified two accounts in which the proceeds of the sale are suspected to have been deposited.

The accounts in Natwest Bank are 64535088(Sort Code 515001) and 77898583(Sort Code 50310) in a branch of the bank in Kensington Royal Garden.

About $112,000 was purportedly traced to account 64535088; about $209,000 was reportedly found in the second account.

The EFCC traced 61 assets to, including 41 shops, 16 mansions and four Park Towers, in Dubai.

Although all the properties were confiscated, their sale has been trailed with a fresh controversy because about $4,522,413.20 has remained unaccounted for in the last seven years.

Out of over $7million purportedly realised from the disposal of the properties, the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria( AMCON) received $3,278,238.69 .

A UK-based counsel, Mr. Williams Akintunde Oluwaseun, who handled the sale, insisted that only $4,406, 826.63 was realised.

But he has not accounted for the $1, 128,587.94 difference in what he remitted to AMCON.

The EFCC has written to NCA to “assist in the full scale investigation of the activities of some people and the laundering of the proceeds of Dubai portfolios”.

A source said: “The EFCC has located various sums of money wired from the proceeds into some accounts in Nigeria, the UK and Dubai, among others. We need the NCA to help track down the beneficiaries and probe their accounts. Two accounts have been located in Natwest Bank in the UK. They are 64535088 (Sort Code 515001) and 77898583 (Sort Code 50310) in a branch of the bank in Kensington Royal Garden.

“Some of the proceeds were lodged in third party accounts. Our detectives uncovered the re-looting of the proceeds by some of those under investigation. Most of these inflows went to individuals and companies

“The ongoing collaboration with NCA will no doubt help us in bringing some suspects to justice and facilitate the recovery of the missing $4.5million proceeds.”

The source also claimed that six of the properties were sold in dollars but payment was effected in Naira to AMCON.

“The six properties were sold for N315million but only N100million was paid to AMCON. Detectives are looking at what informed payment to AMCON in Naira when the assets were bought in dollars.

“Also, the whereabouts of N215million balance is unknown to date. This is why we are investigating all the desk officers in AMCON, companies and the counsel connected with the sale of these 61 assets.

“We may be forced to declare some of the suspects wanted if they do not respond to our invitation for questioning.”

The source alleged that four properties, which were yet to be retrieved, were still suspected to be in Dubai.

The assets were developed by a company called DAMAC in Dubai. “We are seeking the assistance of the UAE Government to retrieve them back. The company is claiming that it can only release the assets if Mrs. Ibru and other owners can sign the power of attorney to release them to the Federal Government,” the source added.

Justice Daniel Abutu of the Federal High Court in Lagos on October 9, 2010 convicted and sentenced Mrs. Ibru to 18 months imprisonment.

He ordered that Mrs Ibru should forfeit N191billion worth of assets to the Federal Government through AMCON.

The assets to forfeit include properties in Nigeria, United States and Dubai.

She was also ordered to forfeit shares in over 100 firms both listed and unlisted at the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/efcc-writes-uk-crime-agency-over-stolen-61-assets-in-dubai/

The Buhari-led Federal Government has spent a total of N4.3tn to service the country’s debt obligations to local and foreign debtors between 2015 and 2017, figures obtained from the Budget Office on Friday showed.

The figures are computed from the quarterly budget implementation report prepared by the Budget Office.

An analysis of the report by our correspondent showed that the sum of N1.06tn was used to service debt in 2015.

The amount rose to N1.31tn in 2016 before hitting N1.54tn in 2017.

A breakdown of the N1.06tn debt service amount for 2015 showed that the sum of N302.1bn was spent in the first quarter made up of N287.5bn for domestic debt and N14.51bn for foreign debt.

In the second quarter of 2015, the report said out of the N239.7bn debt service figure, N218.49bn was spent on domestic debt while N21.2bn went for foreign debt service.

For the 2015 third and fourth quarters, the budget implementation report said that the sums of N305.33bn and N214.24bn were spent, respectively.

Giving a breakdown for 2016, the report said N364.81bn was spent in the first quarter; N233.82bn in the second quarter; while the third and fourth quarters had N468.88bn and N245.95bn, respectively.

For 2017, the report said N624.15bn was used to service the nation’s debt in the first quarter while the second and the third quarters had N303.59bn and N613.21bn, respectively.

Further breakdown of the N1.54tn debt service figure for 2017 showed that domestic debt servicing with a total of N1.48tn accounted for a huge chunk of the debt service obligations. The N1.48tn is about 96.1 per cent of the entire amount spent by the nation on servicing its debt.

Foreign debt servicing obligation followed with the sum of N55.8bn or 3.9 per cent of the entire debt service amount.

The report read in part, “Total debt service in the third quarter of 2017 stood at N613.21bn, signifying a N197.24bn or 47.42 per cent increase above the N415.97bn projected for the quarter.

“A quarterly projection of N372bn was made for domestic debt services but the sum of N613.21bn was actually spent in the third quarter of 2017. This portrayed an increase of N241.21bn or 64.84 per cent above the quarterly estimate.

“The sum of N43.97bn was proposed for the servicing of external debt in the quarter under review. External debt service payment was however not made during the review period.”

Finance and economic experts who spoke on the development on Friday cautioned the Federal Government against further borrowing.

They stated that the country’s debt profile of N19tn was becoming unsustainable as it might be difficult to service it owing to revenue challenges facing the country.

They advised that rather than relying on borrowing to finance its activities, the Federal Government should adopt other sources of funding the infrastructure needs of the country such as concession, privatisation and Public Private Partnership arrangement.

Those that spoke to our correspondent in separate telephone interviews are the President, Institute of Fiscal Studies of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Ighedosa; and the Director-General, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Chijioke Ekechukwu.

Ekechukwu said, “It is expected that the debt profile of the country would rise considering the fact that we have a deficit budget and even the deficit side of the budget was not met in the last budget year.

“With the recession of last year, government would need to continue borrowing to meet the increased size of the deficit. Of course, the borrowing portends danger for the economy because our debt profile is rising and we do not know when we are going to scale it down.

In his comment, Ighedosa said while it was not bad to borrow, there was a need for a reduction in government expenditure.

He said, “We have a high fiscal deficit, which can only be funded through borrowing. When you borrow for investment, it improves the position on your balance sheet and when you borrow for consumption, it can cause problems for the economy as it will affect the level of confidence in the economy from investors because they will assume we can’t manage our economy.

“We already have a debt overhang, and as it is, we are building that up and so there is a need to reduce the rate of borrowing.”

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/06/buharis-govt-spent-n4-3tn-to-service-debt-since-2015/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

After contracting for five consecutive quarters, the Nigerian economy in the third quarter of 2017 was declared recession free, data on the country’s gross domestic product growth by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the economy grew at 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

This was followed by the federal government’s executive orders to drive the key sectors of the economy, the consensus out there is that a lot of the changes that have happened are only on papers but not far-reaching.

Speaking with a cross-section of experts, they expressed mixed feelings over the numerous policy pronouncement of the federal government in the last 12 months, especially as it concerns ease of doing business.

In the view of Chief Cyprian Arinze, a haulage contractor, the Executive Order if anything amount to putting the horse before the cart. “If the government takes care of the roads, we can achieve over 95% Ease of Doing Business. Without this, we will just be going round and round the circles.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) argued matter-of-factly that the Executive Order is far from a reality as basic infrastructure aimed at turning things around at the ports are still missing.

To achieve the much hyped executive orders mandate, he would rather a deliberate measure to build truck terminals. “I want to use this avenue to appeal to the concerned authorities to see what they can do because things are in terribly bad shape right now.”

In his assertion, Austin Okere, the Founder and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Ausso Leadership Academy, an ideas incubation company express worry that the Economic Recovery Growth Plan laudable as it is already suffering from inertia associated with government policies.

“I think the problem we have is that we run election economics. Great men think about the next generation but politicians think about the next election. And insofar as the economy is about amassing enough money to manoeuvre or win the elections by all means, then another four years, we go back to the same square, then if a new government comes in, it starts exposing saying oh, look at the money that was amassed and they say it was for election and say, ok. The point is insofar as we continue to run election economics; we’ll be where we are. In an election year, a lot of time and resources are wasted. So we only have two productive years and if you’re not lucky, the new government comes and rollback everything that has been achieved, it becomes a problem.”

Expectedly, the government on its part seems to be convinced that it has performed commendably well thus far. David Uzosike, the Reform Lead, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council/Enabling Business Environment Secretariat with the mandate to lead, coordinate, research and identify the constraints to ease of doing business in Nigeria, in an interview said a lot have been achieved.

“If you’ve been following our communication, especially looking at our website, you’ll see all the reforms and impacts we have achieved from the Ease of Doing Business perspective. And when you talk about the Executive Orders specifically, we can say there has also been some traction in that area.”

While acknowledging that infrastructure gaps exists, Uzosike said, a lot has also been done to make documentation process at the port seamless.

“Truth be told, a lot has changed. For instance, where you used to have 14 documents for inspection, it’s now eight and where you used to have all the agencies inside the ports, with each of them coming one after the other to inspect containers; it has changed. Now all the agents operate with one single window. There are no more multiple points of inspection. So these are things that are really in practice.”

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/06/nigerias-economic-recovery-happens-only-on-paper-experts/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun

Out of the 133,324 candidates shortlisted for the nationwide Police recruitment exercise, Kaduna State has the highest number with 6,962, while Lagos has the least with 1,013 candidates.

A statement released to the News Agency of Nigeria by the Police Service Commission and signed by its spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, revealed that Katsina was second with 6,676, followed by Benue and Niger with 6,474 and 6,409 candidates respectively.

Bayelsa has 1,097, followed by Anambra with 1,117 and Ebonyi with 1,303.

The Police Service Commission said that 133,324 applicants were shortlisted for screening, out of which 6,000 constables will be recruited into the Nigeria Police Force nationwide.

The commission’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, said in a statement on Thursday that the exercise would commence on Monday, May 7 in the 36 state police Command headquarters and the Federal Capital Territory.

(NAN)

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/05/police-recruitment-kaduna-tops-list-bayelsa-state-lowest/

A ward chairmanship candidate of the All Progresaives Congress, APC in Delta State, Jeremiah Ogboveta has been shot dead.

The victim was until his death, the chairmanship candidate for Jeremi Ward III in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.

Security sources in the area told Saturday Vanguard that the incident happened on Saturday morning.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/05/breaking-delta-apc-chairmanship-candidate-shot-dead/

Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has stated that no other president in the country has managed the nation’s economy better than President Muhammadu Buhari.

The governor spoke in Ibadan on Friday evening while receiving members of the National Congress Committee of APC at the Government House.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the committee led by Alhaji Musa Aliyu were in the state for the ward congress of the APC scheduled to hold on Saturday.

“I read Economics and Finance, and there is no economic theory that we have not read. The most important part of all the economic theory is leadership.

“And Nigeria is lucky to have that leadership. There is no president in Nigeria that has ever managed the economy like Buhari,” he said.

Ajimobi, who described the APC as the greatest party in Africa, said Buhari was the most credible president that Nigeria has ever produced.

“I was in one of Buhari’s delegation to London and when he was asked to speak he said ‘I have no money to distribute. All I have been selling is my integrity,” he said.

The governor said that Buhari has been able to maintain that integrity till date

“Politics is just a game that if God plays it, some people will abuse Him no matter the performance. I use to tell the president anytime I meet him not to worry people are abusing him.

“I told him that people abused Prophet Muhammed and Jesus Christ, who are godsend not to talk of us ordinary human beings. That is why God has created the world a binary one,” he said.

Ajimobi promised that the congress committee would not be influenced, assuring them of their support.

Earlier, Aliyu said the committee was in Ibadan on a national assignment of the party, which he said the committee would do satisfactorily.

He said that the party was known for internal democracy, adding such was the cardinal principle preached by Buhari, the leader of the party.

“We intend to work closely with the local chapters in achieving the desired success, so that the party will come out strongly,” he said.

NAN reports that on the committee were Hon Usman Ibrahim, Hon Mohammed Ibrahim, Hadjia Halima Jabiru and Mrs Fola Olasehinde.

Also in attendance were Chief Akin Oke, Oyo State APC Chairman and some House of Representative members from Oyo State.(NAN)

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/05/buhari-handled-economy-better-than-others-since-1999-ajimobi/

Read more @ https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/03/nigeria-china-finally-seal-the-yuan-deal/

The Osun State Internal Revenue Service (OIRS) has shut down the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, for its failure to remit over N1.844,770,939.45 to the agency.

The institution was shut by officials of the Revenue Task Force who arrived the campus at about 7:00 on Wednesday morning.

The team, led by one Mr Oladipo Babatunde, sealed the Senate Chamber and the administrative building before proceeding to seal the main gate, leaving the pedestrian gate unlocked.

The closure of OAU and other establishments in the state followed the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum issued to all affected establishments by the state government.

Mr Babatunde revealed that the institution owed the state government about N1.8 billion and they had no choice than to seal after the management of OAU refuses to meet up with the deadline issued to them.

According to him, the money owed by the Institution is outstanding unremitted PAYE withholding taxes and developments levy which had become due and payable since year 2015 and 2016.

Meanwhile, the school management has reacted to the development, saying it would soon resolve the issue with the state government.

The Public Relations Officer of the University, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, told Channels Television that the debt was inherited from the past administration of the institution.

“I must add this that the present university administration since 2017 has been paying consistently but the backlog of debt inherited from the past administration is what is causing this little problem.

“everything will be resolved by the grace of God. The school management is assuring the public that it will soon be resolved,” Olanrewaju said.

https://www.financialwatchngr.com/2018/05/02/osun-state-internal-revenue-shuts-oau-over-alleged-tax-evasion/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Seun