₦airaland Forum

ProWalker:
Your own problem starts and ends with Yoruba

This is the problem that an average Nigerian have with Igbos, the discordant tunes emanating from the SE makes the region unstable, unpredictable and untrustworthy with any sensitive political position in Nigeria.

Even if they secede after a successful referendum. Most of these kids don't know they will have to reach a consensus with other regions on trade deals and most importantly protect the interest of their kinsmen in those regions like the U.K. and the EU are struggling to do now after Brexit.

Also, going by the available data they will have to bring more to the table than other regions unless they annexed South-South. So it is not going to be a smooth ride as widely perceived.

A political blueprint that is capable of changing Nigerian political landscape going forward by Nairaland very own Mynd44.

This is not the worst time to be an Igbo in the Nigerian political sphere, in fact, it is actually the best time for Igbo politics. However, it will take some dynamic thinking to realize this. Say what you want about Tinubu but he understood this early and he played the game well, "you cannot go and play in the big leagues if you do not have big players who turn up and show up."

You cannot go and play in the big leagues if you do not have big players who turn up and show up.

What does that mean? Look at the present crop of political leaders in the South West and immediate environments (from the 6 states to Kogi and Edo) and you can actually pick enough people called "Tinubu boys" who have political clout and weight. These are people who have been tested and have the strength and dynamism. Even those who are deemed estranged like Fayemi and Fashola. And guess what, they also show up meaning they hold down their own house and can turn up political numbers any day. Do a number of Tinubu Boys in Lagos alone and you will be shocked, from Hamzat to Leke Pitan. Not trying to praise Tinubu but this type of alliance is needed. I have not seen one single politician in the South East that commands such respect across the board in the South East. How can you position yourself for National Politics if you have not conquered regional politics?

How can you hold your own when you can't show up to a party meeting with at least fifteen boys who are willing to work for you from all the states? Almost every South East politician is just popular in each of his/her state. This is the problem governors who perform like Obaino and talkers (even though he does too much) like Peter Obi has. They need people to fight for them and hold down other states for them.

You call it godfatherism, I say it is alliances. Imagine if Okorocha can boast of having a huge support base from not just Imo but also Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers, and Enugu. That is 5 states. He is already in a good position for any political negotiation and he is more likely to get what he asks for if he wants to form an alliance with anyone.

You call it godfatherism, I say it is alliances.

Saraki did not become this influential by locking himself in Kwara. No, he played his politics in his region. Same as El Rufai. People have no idea the politics that happened on the morning of the primaries between Fashola, El Rufai, and Tinubu. That could have cost President Buhari the ticket if not for alliances.

Similarly, Akpabio is facing the same problem, his support basically stops in Akwa Ibom (which the governor is doing his best to uproot) outside the state, none. At least, Amaechi even though he is as dramatic as a woman (no disrespect to women) but he is bringing his boys out and giving them posts who will in turn spread his own political clout. That is not even national politics, but regional.

People wonder why the Tinubu group can be so confident about Lagos. Because they have done the work of 100 years. They have almost every traditional leader, every market leader, every motor park, and almost every structure on the informal side and the formal side, they allow the social media boys do the dirty fight. If you don’t know, you can’t beat the Tinubu boys on Twitter and Facebook. They are always ready.

This is the time for the South East politicians to forge intra-regional alliances. Have one or two politicians in the South East and parts of the South-South who can boast of at least 30 percent of voters in each state in terms of Senators, House of Representatives, State assemblies, etc., and then launch for the National scale.

This is the time for the South East politicians to forge intra-regional alliances.

However, playing the victim card while expecting things to fall into your arms will not help the region. The South East has to stop claiming marginalization, everybody in Nigeria has been marginalized but not everyone chooses to wear it on their sleeves. Stop attacking other tribes because you feel they have it better or they made better calculations, if you lose, take that loss with your chest, go home and work on it, come back to another fight smoking and looking new (political fights are not every 4 years, they are every re-run election, every party ward primary, every local government poll) put your players in position that will help spread your influence so when they call your name in one place, the response is heard from 7 places. That is a political influence.

The South East has to stop claiming marginalization, everybody in Nigeria has been marginalized but not everyone chooses to wear it on their sleeves.

And politicians have to stop looking like tribal bigots --even if you are, you are a politician, polish yourself. See how commissioners in Lagos, went to be senators, ministers, and governors. Don’t restrict your planning to one tribe. Ambode did a lot of the financing of Edo politics on Tinubu's behalf now, they have a governor they can plan with. Governors in the South East have to capture grounds outside their state, make none indigenes commissioners and advisers and send them to be senators in their states but what have you in their states. Defeatist.

http://investorsking.com/south-east-time-regroup/

LifestyleTonite:
This is a great feat for Davido. I remember when 2face released a song claiming he did it with R Kelly. Few weeks later, it was discovered that he just took RKelly's voice from another song and infused it into his. That was the biggest lie of the year. What 2face couldn't achieve is what Davido got cheaply.

lalasticlala Seun

Olodo, go and watch one8, hand across the world.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTRXYGbL7O4

The National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday released the Internally Generated Revenue figures for 35 states for the 2016 fiscal period with the total IGR rising by 17 per cent.

Specifically, the IGR increased by N119.28bn from N682.67bn in 2015 to N801.95bn

The bureau in the report, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent in Abuja, stated that Anambra State had yet to report its IGR in full for the year under review.

It said while some states recorded a decline in revenue, others were able to shore up their revenue base during the period.

An analysis of the report showed that 22 states were able to shore up their revenue while 13 recorded a decline in revenue performance.

In terms of performance, the report stated that Lagos State recorded the highest IGR of N302.45bn during the 2016 fiscal period as against N268.2bn the previous year.

It read in part, “Lagos State recorded the highest Internally Generated Revenue figure of N302.42bn in 2016 and was closely followed by Rivers State with N85.29bn while Ebonyi State generated the lowest Internally Generated Revenue. The state generated N2.34bn.

“However, Anambra State is yet to report its full year 2016 IGR figure.

“A total of N801.95bn was generated by 35 states that have reported their full-year 2016 IGR figure.”

The report said the revenue was generated from Pay-As-You-Earn, direct assessment, road taxes, revenue from ministries, departments and agencies and other taxes.

http://investorsking.com/states-igr-rises-by-17-to-n802bn-nbs/

Oil rebounded on Wednesday following a report that the US stockpile dropped to its biggest one-week low this year.

The US crude inventories dropped by 5.2 million barrels last week, according to the US Energy Information Administration. This is more than the 1.8 million-barrel predicted by analysts.

The Brent crude oil climbed 3 percent to $50.27 per barrel as at 6:15 Nigerian time. While, the US West Texas Intermediate oil surged to $47.44 a barrel.

However, analysts have said it is hard to see how this one-off drop in US production would change oil outlook and ease investors’ concerns going forward.

“It is difficult to see how the day’s gains last,” said a partner at hedge fund Again Capital in New York, John Kilduff. “US crude oil production is now solidly above 9.3 million barrels per day with more to come, and refined product, especially for gasoline, is oddly weak.”

Brent, against which half of the world’s oil is priced, has endured a volatile past, plunging from more than $100 a barrel in 2014 to $26 in February 2016.

While, it has since recovered mildly, there were concerns regarding how OPEC would sustain current market price in the face of rising U.S. production.

Experts have said other fundamentals within OPEC member nations have to be addressed before another successful consensus could be reached.

For instance, a Foreign Exchange Research Analysts at Investors King Ltd., Samed Olukoya said: “The rising oil production in Libya and Nigeria could worsen current progress as both nations were exempted from the ongoing production cut.”

The weakness in the oil price has impacted the oil sector, resulting in about 400,000 job cut globally, while investment in the sector is at a record low.

http://investorsking.com/oil-rebounds-50-us-stockpile-drops/

Partnerbiz:
This guy is saying rubbish. He said he should coordinate the affairs of govt? What's weong with that?

Everything, a coordinator has no right to formulate policy or truncate perceived economic saboteurs within and outside the government.

The Republics of Benin and Niger have paid a total of $159,773,116.61 (N48.84bn at the official exchange rate of N305.7 to a dollar) as electricity charges to the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, the Federal Government has said.

It also stated that both countries had a combined balance of $92,315,986.20 (N28.22bn) to pay to the NBET, adding that the payments made were remitted to the power generation companies and service providers in Nigeria.

The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing disclosed this in the communique issued at the end of the 15th monthly meeting of the minister, Babatunde Fashola, with operators of the power sector in Jos, Plateau State.

The ministry stated that the two African countries made the payments through their power companies, NIGELEC of the Republic of Niger and Community Electric du Benin of the Republic of Benin.

The communique read in part, “The NBET reported on international customer payments, stating that NIGELEC and CEB had made payments for power of $159,773, 116.61, with a combined balance still outstanding of $92,315,986.20.

“The payments have been duly remitted to the generating companies and service providers who had provided the generation and transmission services.”

This is coming as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said it was targeting to reduce the number of days needed to connect new buildings with electricity.

According to the communique, the power ministry said, “NERC announced its intention to reduce the number of days required to access electricity connections in new buildings from an estimated 198 to 30 days through a regulatory order to be released shortly.”

It further stated that the Niger Delta Power Holding Company announced the completion of host community connection projects in Magboro, Ogun State, which is currently undergoing testing by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.

“The NDPHC also reported progress on community connections in Egbema, Okija, Oronta, Ihiala and Nnewi, which are still work in progress,” it added.

The ministry noted that the power Market Operator reported payment performance for service provision, with the Eko Electricity Distribution Company posting the best performance at 89 per cent, while the Kaduna Disco had the worst at 13 per cent.

http://investorsking.com/benin-niger-pay-n48-84bn-nigeria-power/

kolaaderin:
Which one are we to believe now, Two forex news on front page delivering opposite information.
The first says Naira appreciated while this is saying the exact Opposite.

www.nairaland.com/3787671/naira-appreciates-against-dollar

One is for the parallel market, the other (this one) is new FX Window created by the CBN two weeks ago for Investors and Exporters. You need to read the two to spot the difference.

mynd44 this deserve to be on the front page, not the parallel/black market. This is the new fx window created two weeks ago.

The Nigerian Naira on Monday depreciated against the US dollar on Investors and Exporters Foreign Exchange Window after the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the platform two weeks ago.

The Window designed to allow investors and exporters’ access forex at market-determined rates has shifted the power to investors as most off-shores investors are said to be demanding N400 a dollar exchange rate, while local buyers were quoting rates as low as N350 a dollar.

Last week, traders held a conference call with market regulator FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange to discuss the wide range of quotes on the Naira for investors, although the meeting did not produce any resolutions. FMDQ provides daily opening and closing quotes on the Naira.

However, traders are worried about illiquidity in the foreign exchange market despite making the exchange rate market-determined for investors.

“We have done deals around N400/dollar levels,” one trader said, adding that, “Some of the off-shores investors are insisting on N400/dollar.”

The CBN had in April said it would allow investors to trade the naira at market-determined rates, a move intended to improve the dollar supply and attract foreign investors who bolted from Nigeria at the start of the latest naira crisis.

http://investorsking.com/naira-depreciates-further-on-investors-fx-window/

Oil prices closed 1.5 percent higher on Friday, rebounding from five-month lows, following positive U.S. jobs data and assurances by Saudi Arabia that Russia is ready to join OPEC in extending supply cuts to reduce a persistent glut.

The market, however, remained in technically oversold territory with futures trading down as much as 19 percent from highs in mid April, prompting some speculators to exit their long positions.

Brent futures gained 72 cents, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $49.10 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 70 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $46.22 per barrel.

After falling almost 5 percent on Thursday, both contracts continued to collapse overnight with WTI falling to $43.76, its lowest since Nov. 15, and Brent down to $46.64, its lowest since Nov. 30 when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut production during the first half of 2017.

Both benchmarks pared losses after Saudi Arabia’s OPEC Governor Adeeb Al-Aama told Reuters that OPEC and non-OPEC nations were close to agreeing to extend a deal to curb production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months from Jan. 1.

“Based on today’s data, there’s a growing conviction that a six-month extension may be needed to rebalance the market, but the length of the extension is not firm yet,” the Saudi official said.

OPEC sources said on Thursday that OPEC is likely to extend cuts when it meets on May 25 but that a deeper cut is unlikely.

In the United States, meanwhile, job growth rebounded sharply in April and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent, near a 10-year low, according to government data.

“The jobs report is extremely positive for the U.S. economy…and should help boost oil demand,” said Mark Watkins, regional investment manager for U.S. Bank’s private client group in Park City, Utah.

Despite gains on Friday, both benchmarks declined for a third week in a row – Brent by about 5 percent and WTI by 6 percent – in their longest losing streak since November.

“The energy complex is slowly succumbing to an opinion that this year’s OPEC production cuts have been ineffective,” Jim Ritterbusch, president of Chicago-based energy advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a note.

“We feel that the (OPEC) cartel has come to a fork in the road in which the current agreement will be abandoned or steps will need to be taken to double down on current efforts by increasing production curtailments,” Ritterbusch said.

Brent traded volumes on Thursday reached a record high of nearly 542,000 contracts, suggesting that hedge funds had accelerated reductions to their long positions.

Pierre Andurand, who runs one of the biggest hedge funds specializing in oil, liquidated his fund’s last long positions in oil last week and is running a very reduced risk at the moment, a market source familiar with the development said.

“It is now-or-never for oil bulls,” said U.S. commodity analysis firm The Schork Report. “They either put up a defense here or risk further emboldening the bears for a run at the $40 threshold (for WTI).”

http://investorsking.com/oil-rebounds-on-saudi-assurances-russia-will-extend-supply-cuts/

PBundles:
I may not have been clear, so let me rectify.

I was actually talking on back in 2014 when they started taking out the fracking industry. I was not talking about now. In fact they actually didnt hide it and I quote:

Opec will not cut production even if the price of oil falls to $20 a barrel, the cartel’s de facto leader said, spelling out a dramatic policy shift that will have far-reaching implications for the global energy industry. In an unusually frank interview, Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, tore up Opec’s traditional strategy of keeping prices high by limiting oil output and replaced it with a new policy of defending the cartel’s market share at all costs

On the hedging, believe me I have an understanding on this, I do this for a living, I doubt that they are. Why would they? as mentioned they can extract in some fields at 1.5$ to the barrel so what risk would they run. And if they did, would be minimal since what real risk are they running. Now Nigeria on the other hand would have profited from a hedge but thats a different story all together.

On the Trump factor, we still need to see how far that plays. Even his favourable tax polices ( which I dont see getting passed at the levels he is suggesting. If corp tax gets to the 20-25 range, I would see that as a major win compared to current levels) will need to be passed and before they become actionable, we are taking fiscal year 2019 at the very earliest, so dont see that playing into the fracking at this stages.

Bro what you quoted has no relevance to:

Shale is not profitable at these levels. One of the reasons for the Oil crash was that the Saudis flooded the market knowing that at around $48-55 shale cant exist, hence a lot of shale producers went belly up. Hence my theory that I doubt you wont see oil at old prices and will stay within this range. when you take into consideration that the saudis have oils deposits that cost them around $1.5-2 to extract per barrel! Its not the deposits you have that ar really important, but the cost of extraction.

It didn't state Saudi increase production during the said period.

On hedging, they actually did and still doing.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-27/u-s-shale-surge-threatens-opec-strategy

If you think 20-25% will be good, I am glad to inform you that Trump proposed 15% federal tax, its huge and will get passed. The embolden, I am the one quoted in the article.

Pavore9:
Which should we believe?

CBN of course, yesterday was from nairametrics.

chloride6:
Loans go be like 32% be that now.

We don die for this country.

Companies go buy expensive forex come still collect 32% loan.

By the time you factor in 30% company tax, overhead and expenses, company don fold up.

You are right, that was why after reviewing the 140 pages NERGP released by the FG. I was convinced it's a mere dream, there is nothing to it because it's not achievable. Yet, analysts/people are lauding it.

But here we are barely a month later, the main source of revenue has nosedived. Here is a link to that thread

https://www.nairaland.com/3730284/understanding-nigerian-economic-recovery-growth

chloride6:
Base interest is now 16%?

Choi, CBN and their MPC communiques of death

Since last year, after Forex Flexibility Policy failed.

PBundles:
Shale is not profitable at these levels. One of the reasons for the Oil crash was that the Saudis flooded the market knowing that at around $48-55 shale cant exist, hence a lot of shale producers went belly up. Hence my theory that I doubt you wont see oil at old prices and will stay within this range. when you take into consideration that the saudis have oils deposits that cost them around $1.5-2 to extract per barrel! Its not the deposits you have that ar really important, but the cost of extraction.

Saudi didn't flood the market, there was production cut impeding excesses. In fact, Saudi production dropped to 21 months low in February according to OPEC data. Even though, Shale is not profitable at the current price level. They have what is called hedge with commercial banks --that covers their losses for certain years. Previously, we thought Shale won't come on board until prices reach $60/barrel and above but the hedge, Donald Trump negative attitude towards climate change and his favourable tax policy for businesses revamp that sector even at lower prices.

LionDeLeo:
And cbn is there lifting embargo on the importation of toothpicks.

Just want to grease some palms, shikena, otherwise, where is the forex for those importations coming from?

That is the issue with the CBN I am not sure they are conversant with global events. Exactly, what they did when they introduced Forex Flexibility Policy three days to Brexit in an oil-dependent economy. The result, low capital importation that eventually prompts the apex bank to raise interest rate by 200 basis points to 16%.

Oil prices plummeted to its lowest in five months after data showed the U.S. rising oil production would offset efforts by the OPEC to moderate prices.

The global oil prices which started falling on Monday following a report that hedge funds and money managers have started cutting bullish positions, dip lower on Thursday to reach its pre-OPEC consensus level.

Since Monday, the WTI has dropped about 9 percent to $45.60, its lowest since November 2016. While the Brent Crude has plunged as much as 8 percent to trade at $48.83, the lowest price level this year.

Experts have said the uncertainty surrounding OPEC policy and the continuous rise of the U.S. oil production will continue to weigh on global oil outlook in the medium term.

“With the future of OPEC policy unclear, the trend of rising U.S. production remains the single biggest headwind for oil prices in the medium term,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor of the Sevens Report.

However, analysts have said OPEC would have to cut more than the 1.8 million barrels a day it cut in November to curtail global glut and normalize prices.

“An extension would be mildly supportive of oil, but because of the recent rise in U.S. production, the effect of OPEC policy on global inventories has been limited and deeper cuts to member production are likely needed to really ignite a rally through the mid $50/barrel level,” said Richey.

Brent crude oil has now erased all its gains since OPEC reached accord on November 30, 2016.

Also, currencies of commodity-dependent economies like the Canadian dollar, Aussie, etc. plunged against the U.S. dollar this week, reaching their lowest exchange rate this year.

According to Samed Olukoya, a foreign exchange research analyst at Investors King Ltd., “The issue is not just the rising U.S. oil production, but also the surge in production level of OPEC members exempted from production cut in November. For instance, Libya has announced that the El-Feel oilfield is ready to resume production after two years, this is an oil field that has a production capacity of 80,000 barrels per day. Likewise, Nigeria is struggling to up its output from about 1.5 million barrels per day to 2 million barrels per day. All these add up to what trigger the sell-off and are expected to further hurt investment in the oil sector if not checked.”

http://investorsking.com/oil-prices-plunge-to-5-month-low-on-thursday/

@Adesiji77 This is actually wrong as our weak foreign revenue will not be enough to service key sectors. Maybe CBN doesn't know that global oil has erased all its gains since OPEC reached consensus in November as at today. Meaning oil price is on its way to $45/barrel.

The revenue target of the Nigeria Customs Service for 2016 fell by N216.5bn, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), told the House of Representatives on Wednesday in Abuja.

This was a dip of 23.11 per cent as against the original target of N937.3bn set for the year.

The agency only succeeded in collecting N720.7bn or 76.89 per cent of the target revenue between January and December last year.

The NCS collected N177.9bn as Value Added Tax on imports, bringing the total revenue collection to N898.6bn.

Ali had appeared before the House Committee on Customs to defend the Customs 2017 budget estimates.

The committee is chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Lagos State, Mr. James Faleke.

The Federal Government had started efforts to diversify the economy in 2016 by focusing on non-oil revenue resources, particularly through the NCS.

But, Ali told the lawmakers that certain factors led to the drop in revenue collection.

For example, he stated that while there was a proposed policy to collect levies on luxury items consumed by the super-rich, there was no legal backing to enforce it.

This implies that luxury goods were imported all through 2016 without the payment of levies.

“There was no legal backing to enforce the collection of the proposed levy on luxury items. There was no importation of polished rice in the period under review,” he added.

When asked by the committee to mention the luxury items to be covered by the proposed policy, the CG listed them as luxury cars, champagne and furniture.

He added, “Some of our emirs and other traditional rulers love to import Royce Rolls and very expensive cars. You have costly wines and so on for some of the super-rich. The government is saying that if you have decided to buy something out of the ordinary, you should pay a levy.

“But, we need a legal framework and policy pronouncement by the Ministry of Finance for the Customs to enforce the levy. We have to be able to determine what to collect on the various categories of items.”

Another factor Ali mentioned was the decision of the government to place 41 items on the restriction list from accessing forex at the official window.

He added that the drop in the value of the naira, collapsed scanners at border points and the porous nature of the country’s borders also affected the revenue target.

Out of the budgeted N81.2bn for its operations in 2016, Ali stated that only N45bn was eventually accessed by the agency.

He claimed that to be able to continue to pay salaries, the NCS had to fall back to the N6.1bn savings it accrued over time for the purpose of such interventions.

Lawmakers grilled the CG on the insistence of the service to execute the ban it had placed on the importation of vehicles through land borders.

Ali said the policy was justifiable to grow the Nigerian economy.

According to him, Benin Republic enjoys the revenue for cars driven in Nigeria.

He argued that 99.9 per cent of cars imported into Benin always ended up in Nigeria through smuggling and other illegal activities on the land borders.

“Why should we be growing the economy of another country when our own is facing challenges? That is the point that we have been making. That Benin cars will come to Nigeria after they have collected their import duties over there,” Ali added.

http://investorsking.com/customs-revenue-fell-by-n216-5bn-in-2016-ali/

After weeks of absence due to ill-health, President Muhammadu Buhari resumed work on Tuesday and met separately with the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari’s resumption at his office was bound to stem speculation and growing concerns about his health, which presidency sources informed media have been grossly exaggerated.

A source on Tuesday reiterated the statement by one of the president’s spokesmen Garba Shehu that Buhari had been advised by his doctors to rest more and take things slowly after his medical vacation in the United Kingdom, adding, however, that now he has resumed work, he would likely chair the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday.

Since his return from the UK, Buhari has not attended any public function and was unable to attend two cabinet meetings last month and the Jumat service last Friday at the Presidential Villa.

The president was also absent at the May Day rally organised by the labour unions for the second time since assuming office in 2015, a development that caused commotion at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Briefing State House correspondents after his closed-door meeting with the president, Malami said Buhari expressed concern over the perceived failure of the National Assembly to pass some bills meant to aid the fight against corruption, describing it as a major setback for the anti-graft war.

Malami, who disclosed that the assets recovered by the anti-graft agencies are scattered all over the country, added that the non-passage of the bills was worrisome to the president because it has resulted in a stalemate in stock taking and management of the proceeds of the anti-corruption war.

He made reference to Proceeds of Crime Bill which he said contains the legal backing for the establishment of an Asset Management Agency as one of such bills whose non-passage constitutes a threat to the progress of the anti-corruption war.

According to him, assets recovered by anti-corruption agencies are scattered across the country without any legal framework to aid their gathering and management.

He also explained that he had visited the president to brief him on developments in his ministry as well as the submission of the report of the Electoral Reform Committee to his office.

“It was a routine briefing to the president as it relates to general issues – the issues that have to do with anti-corruption.

“Mr. President is worried that the anti-corruption bills that are pending before the National Assembly, there has not been any expeditious determination on the passage of the bills and indeed the Asset Management Agency was also part of the discussion.

“Mr. President is worried that the assets that have been gathered over time by the agencies of government that are responsible for the fight against corruption are scattered all over the place.

“And embedded in the Proceeds of Crime Bill is the Asset Management Agency which is the agency put in place by the presidency for the purpose of managing the associated assets that are recovered.

“So, Mr. President is indeed worried and the discussions bordered on how best we can handle it. There are also limited issues that relate to the parastatals under the Ministry of Justice that were discussed.

“As you are aware, this afternoon, the Electoral Reform Committee that had been put in place submitted its report to my office.

“I equally briefed Mr. President on that and in addition to the report, there are bills that have been presented for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council as they relate to amendment to the electoral process.

“The whole essence of the meeting was to seek the view of Mr. President and the direction as to what to do next as it relates to the Electoral Reform Committee report that has been submitted and to consider routine processes under the Ministry of Justice,” he said.

Malami also disclosed that the presidential committee probing the allegations of corruption against the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, and Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Ayo Oke, over the discovery of N13.3 billion in an apartment in Ikoyi, would submit its report to Buhari on Wednesday.

The committee is chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. Malami and National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno (rtd.) are also members of the committee.

Malami, who declined to make comments on the committee’s findings, said doing so would be pre-emptive, adding that the vice-president who is the chairman of the panel would brief the president on its findings after submitting the report today.

“Well, you know the presidential committee that is investigating the NIA and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is supposed to make its submission by tomorrow.

“So it is pre-emptive now to discuss anything considering the fact that the committee is under the chairmanship of the vice-president who is supposed to brief the president in that respect and the schedule for the committee’s assignment has not elapsed,” Malami said.

Lawal and Oke were suspended by Buhari on April 19, after which the president constituted a three-man committee chaired by the vice-president to probe them.

While Lawal was accused of violations of due process in the award of contracts on the humanitarian crisis in the North-east, Oke was suspended over his claim that the money discovered in the Lagos flat belonged to the agency.

The committee was tasked with investigating “how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds”.

Lawal is being investigated over the management of the Presidential Initiative on the North-east (PINE) in his capacity as SGF.

He was alleged to have awarded a N220 million tree-cutting contract to his company, Rholavision Engineering Limited, in contravention of public sector rules barring government officials from awarding contracts to companies in which they have an interest.

During his briefing, Dr. Baru said he met with the president to update him on operations of the NNPC and its subsidiaries, and on the relative stability in the nation’s oil and gas sector in recent weeks.

He said the president expressed delight over the reported stability in the oil and gas sector.

“I briefed Mr. President on the state of the NNPC and its subsidiaries and also on the situation of fuel supply, crude oil production, gas production and by extension, ability to supply gas to the power sector,” he said.

“We had an extensive briefing as you can see; I passed here over two hours ago. I spent quite some time with him to discuss these national issues.

“He was happy with the state of the corporation and told us to continue with the efforts that we are doing and if we need any executive attention we should not hesitate to come back to him,” Baru said.

Baru disclosed that following the peace and stability being enjoyed in the Niger Delta, oil production peaked at two million barrels per day (mbpd) on May 2.

He also said NNPC has no plan to increase the prices of petroleum products.

http://investorsking.com/buhari-resumes-meets-agf-nnpc-gmd-may-attend-council-meeting-wednesday/

PBundles:
I dont think age or when you started is factor. The mere fact that he started in 2007 and now 10 years later has Olympic Gold and is the Unified champ concurs that he had talent, otherwise who else ( mayweather, Tyson anyone) has accomplished the same in a short span. I used to box and have followed for years, believe me the guy is highly talented. For someone his height and weight, his hand eye coordination is extraordinary.

The guys that had the experience and took his place, what have become of them.

Peace brother.

You are no boxer please, a true boxer knows it is not possible to raise an Olympic champion within a year. A real boxer knows it takes years and sacrifices to build muscle memory, learn to throw precise combinations, learn to jab effectively, footwork and head movement that after 9 years he is still yet to learn. I am AJ fan but when people watch and play football growing up, boxing is all I do and till this day. The gym is home.

Dandsome:
Going by what Jeremiah said, you'll notice that the OP's story of being a bricklayer is false then. Was he a bricklayer in England or what?

I am the OP, he was a bricklayer and it was even in the documentary Lucozade did on him a week to the fight. If you are a true boxing fan you should know that as he always mentions it in his interviews. That is a link below.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=anthony+joshua+lucozade+

Nigerian youths need to be better than this please. Jeremiah Okorodudu is delusional. This is what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called danger of a single story, that fake story told by Jeremiah Okorodudu was cited on numerous international media.

PBundles:
This is not the account given by Jeremiah Okorodudu.

Jeremiah Okorodudu, a former boxing champion, has revealed how boxing rave of the moment, Anthony Joshua, was rejected by Nigerian boxing officials nine years ago. Joshua caught global attention and became a darling of boxing fans Saturday night after he humiliated Wladimir Klitschko, at the Wembley Stadium in England. Speaking with UK Sun, Okorodud recalled that nine years back, Joshua’s efforts to represent Nigeria at the 2008 Olympic Games were futile as the Nigerian boxing officials turned him down. He said, “Joshua was in Nigeria once to connect with his roots and I think that was in 2007. “He wanted a chance to compete for trials ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics qualifiers, but he was denied and not given a chance. “Disappointed, he went back to England to represent Great Britain.

This is not the first time that athletes have been mistreadt. What about our soccer girls, even our mens team what was the issue in the previous Olympics again that almost got them DQ before the Asian guy came to the rescue and the list goes on and on.

So sorry, Im not buying this and thank God for him actually as they would have frustrated him. No qualms though, he is the CHAMP.

See I don't know about other athletes but Jeremiah Okorodudu account is totally wrong. How can an 18-year-old boy that started boxing for the first time in 2007 compete for a place in the Olympic team in the same year? Even four years later he couldn't win Amateur World Boxing and Dillian Whyte almost ruined his career before it got started.

Nigerian leaders have issues, youths should strive to be better.

Airforce1:
The same Anthony Joshua you Nigerians rejected

Yeye dey smell

Nigeria didn't reject him, he wasn't qualified as at the time.

This is why mynd44 should move this https://www.nairaland.com/3774259/anthony-joshua-nigerian-myth to the front page. Too many misconceptions.

zopaks:
Wlad is a FAR better boxer than Wilder may ever be, even at 41.. Wilder lacks IQ and skill, plus his defense is virtually non existent. Wlad is bigger, smarter, and stronger than Wilder... AJ will KO him.

Another question... WHO HAS WILDER FOUGHT MOLINA?

Why did you think WK didn't go for Wilder's belt but opt for AJ's belt? Remember he sparred with both of them.

Again, why did AJ called out sick Fury instead of active Wilder? and when asked about a potential fight in the US, he mentioned 45 years old Shannon Briggs, until he was specifically asked about Wilder. I am a fan of AJ and a hardcore boxing fan. Wilder is a threat, AJ knows and the whole world knows.

Also, AJ could have fought Stiverne when he fought both Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina but his team knows the steel-chin Stiverne that Wilder couldn't put to sleep in 12 rounds, even when he fought Wilder with flu would cause AJ major trouble.

Listen, Wilder has been calling AJ out, AJ is yet to respond. In heavyweight boxing, 40 fights, 0 loss is no joke, it adds up to your experience -- that gives Wilder an edge. Have a wonderful week.

DaPuncline:
To me, wilder is good but just being overrated. He hasn't fought a single hall of fame caliber guy. He hasn't fought a top 50 all time great except Stiverne who took him all the way to the 12th round and won by unanimous decision. To me Wilder has not yet faced his real acid test. We all know Joshua has fought Martin and WK

The man has fought 40 different heavyweights and he used to be WK sparring partner. In his last fight, he defeated Washington that got WK ready for the fight that almost put a stop to AJ unbeaten run. He is far more experience than AJ and a major threat.

While I am not convinced he would beat AJ, AJ needs to work on the basis. One punch from Wilder, its good night. Anyways, I will like to see Wilder against Parker in July for possible unification later in the year.

DaPuncline:
He would beat wilder.

Before his fight against WK, I thought the same but after that fight. He needs to improve a lot, Wilder hit harder than any of the current heavyweights but doesn't have the leg and his Chin is a suspect as well.

However, AJ needs to work on his defence, too vulnerable. If Wilder caught him just once he is a goner, WK caught him way too much, reminding me of both Frank Bruno and George Foreman. Poor head movement and footwork but great power and heart. Well, we all know what happened to Bruno, mental issue. George foreman retired early after old Muhammed Ali schooled him when he was 20 in Congo and came back to be the oldest heavyweight at 48.

DaPuncline:
Igbo man spotted. Same Wilder that could not finnish up molina until the 7th round. Go ask what Joshua did to Molina. sule.

9th round, the fact that Anthony Joshua took Eric Molina out in round 3 does not mean he would beat Deontay Wilder. After all, he went death and life with WK, while Tyson Fury plays with the Legend. Style makes a fight. AJ said it himself.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has declared that the apex bank is ready to partner the Lee Group and Jigawa State Government to ensure the establishment of a multi-billion naira white refined sugar cane factory that will generate N60 billion annually to the state.

Emefiele who spoke during the foundation laying ceremony of the 12,000 hectres of land in Garin Chiroma in Gagarawa Local Government Area of the state on Sunday, also regretted that Nigeria spends over $100 million annually for the importation of sugar which can be grown in the country.

According to him, “Nigeria today spends over $100 million importing sugar in the country whereas we can grow sugar Nigeria.”

He commended the Lee Group for investing in sugar production in Nigeria, saying, “by this initiative, you have helped in joining the Federal Government of Nigeria towards ensuring that we achieve our goal of diversifying away our economy from oil into a very important sector which is called agriculture.

“You (Lee Group) have touched the heart of Nigerians, you have touched the heart of the president, you have touched the heart of the federal government because through the clarion call of the president, you have answered that call and I can assure you that you will receive the needed support from the government.

“On our part as the CBN, I appeal to you to come over to us, whatever support you need to get this project on ground, so that in the next couple of months, we can come back and launch the programme, that support I assure you today, you will get from the CBN.”

Emefiele said sugar production is part of CBN’s core aspect of the anchor-borrower programme, while commending the Lee Group and Jigawa State government to have keyed into large-scale sugar production.
He added that CBN has concluded plans to support small farmers who are into sugar cane farming, “we will support not only Lee Group; we will also support other little farmers that are involved in sugar-cane planting so that as the farmers plant your sugar-cane, the Lee Group can also buy them off the farmers.

“Through that means, we have provided jobs for our people; and we have increased the wealth of our people. That is the anchor programme of the federal government and I want to thank all of you for being here today.”

The CBN governor who hailed Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar for investing in agriculture, said: “Jigawa State is doing its best; even using its own little resources to support the efforts of the federal government in the anchor-borrower programme for rice.

“Only a couple of months ago, we were here in Jigawa State to see the harvesting of rice, today we have seen a foundation laying ceremony for a 12,000 hectres of land for growing sugar-cane. I congratulate you, Badaru and I can only assure you that whatever support you need from CBN, you will get from us.”

Speaking at the occasion, Badaru described the factory as an industrial complex which is designed to generate an all-year round employment, with over 15,000 workforce, just as 12 settlements have already been relocated and compensated.

The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, noted that the cultivation of sugar, rice, wheat and milk form part of the 2017 budget in the agriculture sector as crops to be used in generating foreign exchange.

Ogbeh added: “We cannot survive from continuous importation of these products. Our youths are suffering from unemployment, but the jobs are in the farms and not in the ministries. Our plan is to create millionaire farmers in the country.”

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-spends-over-100m-annually-to-import-sugar-says-emefiele/

mynd44 let people know AJ wasn't rejected.