A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
Contrary to report making the round, Sterling Bank Plc, has said that it did not sack 650 staff but only returned them to service providers that had earlier assigned them to work with the bank.
The company made the clarification in a statement made available to …. yesterday. Although, the lender said it had initially refrained from issuing a statement to counter the mischievous claim, "the spread of the falsehood by online reporters have compelled us to come up this statement to put the record straight."
Explaining the true state of things, bank said: "Specifically, the 650 staff being reported are not staff of Sterling Bank Plc. They were assigned to the bank by our service providers and as contained in the Service Level Agreements (SLA), they can be returned to the service providers for reassignment to any other institution by the service providers as they deem fit.
"As an organisation, we have, over the years invested heavily in making Sterling Bank a great place to work for our staff and this has endeared them to the Bank."
Sterling Bank said the number of staff from other banks willing to join Sterling Bank has also remained on the high. "Despite the poor economic situation with institutions laying off staff, Sterling Bank in the last 11 years of its corporate existence, has established itself as institution that is employee's delight.
"Indeed, if you are looking for an institution that cares about its people, Sterling Bank is it. The bank has continued to build its staff into the best they could be and recognises their contributions to its success," the bank said in the statement.
It further stated that Sterling Bank is managed as a business "that cares about its people though operating in an industry that is known for empathy towards employees."
Apart from paying what could be described as decent wages, Sterling Bank said it has an outstanding record of winning and growing while giving employees an incredible opportunity to grow and develop.
"Apart from having retirement plan; a good healthcare facility and the introduction of flexi time and place to enable staff chose the preferred time and place to discharge their responsibility.
"To build capacity for its people, the Bank has instituted excellent training and developmental programmes such as the Sterling Graduate Associate and the Sterling Management Associate programmes targeted at identifying, grooming and developing young talents for leadership positions in the bank," the statement added.
FBN Holdings Plc, the parent of FirstBank of Nigeria yesterday released its operating results for the year ended 2016 which revealed further deterioration in the quality of its loan.
The results revealed that losses to bad loans jumped by 90 per cent to N226 billion from N118.8 billion in 2015, implying the bank lost N344 billion to bad loans in two years.
The result also showed that ratio of Non Performing Loans (NPL) to total loans worsened from 18.1 per cent in 2015 to 24.4 per cent in 2016. The company's NPL ratio is 19.4 percentage points above the regulatory maximum of 5 per cent, and also 9.6 percentage points above the industry NPL ratio of 14 percent at the end of 2016.
This unprecedented deterioration in asset quality, the bank stated is: "largely driven by the translation effect of the foreign currency portfolio due to the Naira devaluation as well as one-off exceptional credit charge from legacy exposures in subsidiaries."
It stated: "Credit losses are predominately driven by the oil and gas sector exposures and to a lesser extent real estate/residential mortgages, general commerce and the general sectors. As a result, Cost of risk increased to 10.4 per cent , (Dec 2015: 5.7 per cent), while NPL ratio closed at 24.4 percent (Dec 2015: 18.1 per cent).
"We have remained focused on remediation and recovery activities towards declassifying non-performing accounts and driving asset quality improvements. In line with this, we have made significant progress on remediation and recovery of NPLs in the last nine months. One of the three major accounts contributing to the NPL has been fully restructured and will be reclassified as a performing loan in 2017 in line with IFRS guideline, while asset realization is at advanced stage on the second material NPL. Resolution on Atlantic Energy has taken longer than expected but despite the delays we are confident in achieving a positive outcome in the near future."
Despite the deterioration in quality of loans, the company recorded 15 per cent increase in gross earnings, from N502.7 billion in 2015 to N581.8 billion. Profit after tax rose by 10.3 per cent to N17.1 billion from N15.5 billion in 2015.
Furthermore, the company achieved customer deposits of N3.1 trillion, up 4.5 per cent from N3 trillion in 2015, as well as loans and advances of N2.1 trillion, up 14.7 per cent from N1.8 trillion in 2015.
Commenting on the results, Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc, Mr. Uke Eke, the said: "2016 has been a year characterised by significant uncertainty in the operating environment. Despite this, FBNHoldings has delivered a solid performance while focusing on addressing the pre-existing issues in the loan book which resulted in the current loan loss.
"This performance has been achieved through ongoing initiatives in driving efficiency across the various businesses, transforming the risk management and control environment, containing cost, as well as enhancing revenue generation from the banking and non-banking subsidiaries. We expect an improved economic environment through 2017 and are confident that the foundations we have put in place will drive improved financial performance and consequently enhance shareholder returns."
… lauds Fayose for identifying with IPOB leader The Igbo community in Ekiti Thursday showered heroic welcome on Governor Ayodele Fayose for identifying with the pro-Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu in court on Wednesday, saying he has indeed proved to be their own brother from a distant land.
R-L: Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose; The Eze-Ndigbo of Ekiti state, Mr. Nathaniel Uzoma; and Mr. Onoha James, during the Ndigbo in Ekiti State Solidarity rally for the Governor over His Support for Nnamidi Kanu on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti.
Fayose had attended the court trial of Kanu and also appealed to President Mohammadu Buhari to use his veto power to order an unconditional release of the pro-Biafra leader. Kanu had been charged with tresnable felony for declaring support for Republic of Biafra and calling for succession of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria.
Welcoming Fayose into Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital yesterday evening, the excited and jubilant Igbo people sang the governor’s praisechants, drummed local instruments and danced in their cultural way to appreciate what they describe as a deed that can only be done by one who truly loves them as a brother. Leader of the Igbo group, Chief Nathaniel Uzomah, President Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said: “We have come to appreciate you for identifying with our dear brother, Nnamdi Kanu. We have called you Nwanne di Nanmba, meaning our brother from a distant land for this singular act, you have proved to be our own brother indeed.
“Igbo people made a good choice when they conferred the title on Fayose and we regret not because you have proved to be a true and real friend of Igbo people.
“Nobody doesn’t know that Nigeria is currently sick. And a sick man seeks for a doctor. The doctor advises him and the advice we are giving to government to heal Nigeria is demand dialogue. Former President Goodluck convoked a sovereign national conference and issues raised were resolved.
” We don’t know why this government is not implementing the reports and recommendations of that conference. But if you don’t want to adopt that conference recommendation, convoke your own and resolve issues that we have. Let us come to a round table to discuss. This country belongs to all of us. ”
Responding, Fayose said he identified with Kanu because he believed the pro-Biafra leader was being unfailry treated: “We are Nigerians and this country belongs to all of us. I don’t want the division of this country but the unity. But as much as we don’t want the division of this country we don’t want oppression. We are not in military era. Not in 1984, we are in a 21st century when only dialogue is the way forward in a situation that we have found ourselves.
“We urge Mr. President to show mercy to all the people in jail now for no just cause. God has shown mercy to him by granting him recovery after he has been sick. He should therefore show mercy to Kanu, Dansuki, ElZakzay and others.
I believe he is a gentleman and he would release them unconditionally.
I believe in justice and fairness. For Nigeria to move forward we have to dialogue, we have to restructure this country.
” We have to come together and dialogue on how we can be together. We cannot continue to jettison the fact that all Is not well. A lot of people are not happy. We are from different ethnic backgrounds. We have to come together and dialogue.
” We cannot say we would use force to make people believe in what we want them to believe in. And the moment you try to stop people from agitating, you would be creating more problems. You don’t know what would happen tomorrow, an Hausaman is there today. An Ijaw man was there yesterday, another person would be there tommorow. But if the framework is there for everyone to co-exist as a nation, it would be easy for us to stay together. As it is now, all is not well. I went to court to identify with Nnamdi Kanu because I felt that he is currently being unjustly treated. If nobody stands for somebody, they would think it is normal for them to continue to oppress us.
” You would recall that I have warned many months back that the current administration has come for vendetta. They do not represent the collective interest of Nigerians. They wanted power at all cost and the way they use the power today is a clear indication that they don’t want anyone to question them.
They are here to silence everybody with brute force and I want to remind them that this is democracy and everyone has a right to association, good life must remain. Don’t go and clamp people into jail because their voice is not what you want to hear.
” Our judiciary must be given free hand to dispense justice for all. As it is now, the way they are operating in this country, the average man will continue to suffer.
I want to assure that Kanu will one day walk into freedom. God has a way of solving our problems in this country. When Obasanjo and others were incecerated and it appeared they would rot in jail, God miraculously freed them and Obasanjo did not only walk free, but he walked into the Aso Rock as President.
Unfortunately, when such people see others now being oppressed, they are keeping quiet. When the likes of Obasanjo keeps quiet in the face of this oppression, the innocent would suffer. When you have gone through an experience, you are supposed to use it to assist others. Obasanjo keeping quiet on this matter is not fair.
Reacting to critical views from APC on his incentives for youths registering for Voters cards in the state, he said: Those criticising me for giving stipends to those coming to register for voters’ card do not know what they are saying.
Are we voting now?As it is now, so many people do not even have the money to go to where they would register. They are so poor that they cannot afford to take ordinary commercial bike to where they would vote.
Do we leave them and say they should forget it? Even those who are above 18 and are graduates but have no jobs cannot afford to transport themselves to go and register. Our duty is to provide means for them to get to where they are going to register and vote. That is what we are doing.
I want to also say that the huge turn-out you have seen today is as a result of that mobilisation. The turn-out is huge and as a state that is having elections next year, we are fully ready. If APC was doing what I am doing, they would not be complaining. But they are doing nothing here
April 27, 2017 Residents of Zaria and its environs in Kaduna State on Thursday jubilated over the first rainfall in 2017.
The rain, which started at about 4:40p.m., lasted for almost one hour.
Some farmers told NAN that they were highly elated with the experience.
Malam Haruna Sidi-Makarfi, a Makarfi-based farmer in Makarfi Local Government Area, expressed gratitude to God for the rainfall, which he described as "a blessing from our creator."
"Whenever rain starts, as farmers, we must be happy and we must appreciate God Almighty for his blessings.
"A starts clearing his/her farmland preparatory to cultivation'', Sidi-Makarfi said.
He appreciated the efforts of the Federal Government in providing fertilisers called "Nagari" at a controlled price of N5, 500, saying that the commodity had reached the grassroots.
The peasant farmer, however, appealed to government to supply improved seeds and chemicals at subsidised rates to further boost agricultural participation.
A Zaria-based farmer, Malam Musa Dogara, observed that with the commencement of the rain, farmers would be encouraged to actively prepare for bountiful cultivation.
"We are not only to start preparation for a new farming season, but to also look forward to producing more food for the country.
"I want to appeal to farmers to consider farming as a business not just a traditional thing. Remember, prices of farm produce are on the high side this year.
"Therefore, as farmers, it will be part of patriotism to take advantage of that to produce more for the country to enable it attain food sufficiency", Dogara said.
He advised the citizens not to relent in praying for God's blessing for bumper harvest and peace in Nigeria.
Malam Ibrahim Mohammed, also a Zaria-based farmer, appreciated God for what he described as a succour not only to farmers but to all residents.
"May God allow us to see the end of the season in good health and bountiful blessings. Ours is just to plant, but it takes the blessing of God to have bumper harvest", Mohammed said.
The residents also expressed gratitude to God for the cooling effect of the rain on the environment.
Speech by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the Annual National Conference and General Meeting of the NIPR in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Thursday, 27 April 2017
PROTOCOL
Lai Mohammed
I am most honoured to be here today to attend the annual national conference and general meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). Let me say that my presence here today is a measure of the importance I attach to this conference. Due to competing assignments and tough logistics, I virtually had to jump through hoops to be here. Without equivocating, however, I will say that I am glad to be among you all.
There is no better occasion that this to examine the increasingly tough, and almost impossible, job of a public relations practitioner. Tougher still is the task of the Government Perception Manager, whether he or she is the Minister of Information, Commissioner for Information, Spokespersons for the President or Governor or for any government agency.
The challenges faced daily by the perception managers have been exacerbated by the Social Media. Today, the challenges have defied everything the practitioner may have been taught about perception management, public relations and all. Therefore, the government spokesperson, in order to succeed, must be a Cicero, a Socrates, an Albert Einstein and a Machiavelli all rolled into one.
The perception manager today is engaged in an unending war with an opposition that is amorphously defined, an opposition who never sleeps, an opposition that has no rules of engagement, an opposition that has power without responsibility or control, one whose objective is not to inform, educate or provide constructive criticism but to set their own agenda from their own ethnic, religious, ideological and economic perspective, irrespective of what the challenges of government are.
Today's perception manager, especially at the government level, can be likened to one who has signed a contract, the terms of which he or she is not aware of. As I said earlier, the opponents are not clearly defined. They could be friends today and opponents tomorrow. They are not interested in the vision of the government nor the welfare of the people. They insist on being heard and seen, and the privacy, reputation or integrity of the public official are of no consequence to them. As far as they are concerned, government and its leadership must be annihilated. It is not about logic, reason, intellectual discourse or professionalism. It is about viciousness and bitterness that are hard to fathom.
Today, anyone with a phone and data is a journalist, a blogger, owner of an online publication, an opinion molder, etc. They invent stories and even spend money to push such phantom stories. Their mantra is to lie, misinform, malign and confuse. And they do all this simply because they can. No regulations, no sanctions. The spokesperson is at their mercy. Regrettably, they have a fanatic followership in the largely uninformed masses, whose experience over the years has primed them not to trust government and public office holders.
The masses are daily served incredible menu and unbelievable tales which they swallow hook, line and sinker. How else can you explain that people will believe and circulate a fake report that the
Minister of Information and Culture, that is yours truly, has 1.2 billion dollars in his imaginary bank account? Let's examine this for a moment. 1.2 billion dollars is about 400 billion Naira. The entire yearly budget of the Ministry of Information and Culture, where I preside, is under 15 billion Naira, and these include salaries, overhead and capital projects. Assuming, without conceding, that the Minister somehow manages to transfer the entire budget into his personal account, it will take 25 years for him to amass 400 billion Naira. Yet, this disinformation was lapped up by the public. Similar imaginary huge sums of money have been credited to other Ministers.
This is not a surprise, because the more vicious and irreverent a blog or website is, the more the followership. The more the naysayers can invent stories or malign government officials, the more their ratings. They do not wait for the weekly Federal Executive Council to end before they put out their version of what transpired there. Only yesterday, even after I had briefed the State House Correspondents on the outcome of the day's meeting, my views were still misrepresented.
I had said President Muhammadu Buhari chose to rest and work from home for that day, hence he has asked the VP to preside over the day's FEC meeting. By the time this was reported, a section of the press simply quoted me as saying the President will henceforth be working from home. Even when they are corrected, they are neither sorry nor remorseful. They just move on, to do something worse the day after!
One may be tempted to ask: Why do these naysayers do what they do? It is partly to distract government, to force the government perception spokespersons to be fighting bush fires and then lose focus. It is therefore imperative for government perception managers to be keenly aware of this, so as not to fall prey.
As spokespersons for the government, you must not allow yourselves to be distracted. You must be proactive rather than defensive. You must refuse to allow them to set your agenda for you.
You must not allow them to turn you to a fire brigade, fighting bush fires all over. You must stay true to your calling to inform and educate, and to telegraph the achievements of your principal and the intentions of government. You must neither be intimidated, cowed nor be overwhelmed by the cynics. You must set your own agenda and daily review such, with a view to improving on them. You must never lose touch with your traditional constituents. You must understand the tactics of the opposition, which is ambush and irrational.
For example, when we inform them of the rot we met in government and the unimaginable body blows that the economy has endured, blows that would have shaken even the strongest economy in the world, they shrug it away, saying cynically 'we know that, and that's why we voted you into office'. When we tell them how we created 200,000 jobs in one fell swoop, they pretend not to hear. When we inform that our gallant military has captured Ground Zero of the Sambisa Forest, they are not interested. When 21 Chibok Girls were released, they say it's a lie.
When our Euro-bond was oversubscribed eight times over, they do not consider that news good enough. When we recorded a month-on-month reduction in inflation, they sneer at us. When we said we have saved over 9 billion Naira from travels and estacodes in one year, they feign ignorance and when we said the government is taking unprecedented steps to fight corruption, they accuse us of being selective.
The government information managers must not allow themselves to be discouraged by this. They must continue to trumpet the achievements of their governments and the challenges they face in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people, because this is their role, to inform, educate and to polish the image of government.
Today's government information manager, whether he is Minister or Commissioner in charge of Information, must equip himself with qualities such as integrity, courage, abnormal capacity for hard work, ingenuity, resourcefulness, ability to think out of the box, encyclopedic knowledge of all things under the stars, incorruptibility and, above all, passion about the job.
Tough times require tough people, and tough challenges require hard work. In the end, success is guaranteed, irrespective of the antics of the naysayers.
I wish you a successful deliberation, and I thank you for your kind attention.
A protest by French youth against the centrist candidate, Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, turned violent on Thursday, local report said.
The report stated that hundreds of school students took to the streets of the French capital saying, "Neither Le Pen nor Macron," whose projects they said did not meet their expectations.
It noted that "on the sidelines of the demonstration, the hooded young people threw projectiles at riot police who replied by using tear gas to disperse the crowd."
The local report added that anti-fascist and anti-capitalist rallies were also reported in Nantes, Toulouse and Rennes.
At the end of the first round of French elections on Sunday, centrist Macron and anti-immigrant Le Pen reached the run-off, knocking out traditional right and left parties.
In spite of unstable momentum, Macron is predicted to defeat Le Pen with 59 per cent against 41 per cent on May 7.
The re-arraignment of Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, and others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Babatunde O. Quadri of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja was on April 26, 2017 stalled with fresh motions by Lamido’s counsel, Joe Agi, SAN, who is seeking the return of the case to the former trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola.
*Sule Lamido
The prosecution had after the arraignment of Lamido alongside his sons: Aminu Sule Lamido; Mustapha Sule Lamido; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies, Bamaina Holdings Limited and Speeds International Limited, in 2015, called 18 witnesses in support of its claim against the defendants.
However, further hearing on the case was stalled following the suspension of Justice Ademola, by the National Judicial Council, NJC, for alleged breach of professional ethics.
Consequently, the case was reassigned to Justice Quadri and trial had to start de novo.
However, the re-arraignment of the defendants slated for Tuesday, April 11, 2017, could not go on as planned following an application by Agi urging the Chief Judge of Nigeria, CJN, to return the case to Justice Ademola following his acquittal by Justice Jude Okeke on the corruption charges preferred against him by the federal government.
Agi argued that it was in the interest of justice and fair hearing to hear his application, which was brought pursuant to Section 98 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
"My Lord, justice and fair hearing, according to our constitution includes the determination of rights within a reasonable time. The matter commenced two years ago, in 2015. The prosecution had already called 18 witnesses. It would be most unfair and bring undue hardship to the defendants for the matter to begin again and take another two years. Therefore, we humbly apply that your Lordship exercise your power by referring the matter back to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, for reassignment to Honourable Justice Ademola for conclusion of hearing", Agi pleaded.
At this point, Justice Quadri confirmed the receipt of a copy of the letter addressed to the CJN applying for reassignment of the case and showed same to the prosecution.
M.S. Abubakar, counsel to EFCC, opposed the application arguing that the defense ambushed them by not putting them on notice, after applying to the CJN.
Both counsels subsequently agreed to return on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 for further mention pending further directive from the CJN.
At resumed hearing, Agi notified the court of his intention to file another motion challenging the power of the CJN to transfer the matter to Justice Quadri for hearing. Citing Section 98 of the ACJA 2015, Agi argued that, "The CJN does not have the power to transfer a criminal matter in which witnesses have already been called. At the time I wrote to the CJN, I had not taken consideration of this provision. This is no longer an administrative matter. The law says he cannot do what he has done in this case and it is my duty to bring this to the notice of the court."
Responding, Abubakar submitted that the motion made does not qualify as a legal submission. He stated that the seal on the document expired on March 31, 2017, thereby rendering the document invalid.
He urged the court to proceed with the arraignment pending further directives by the CJN.
Justice Quadri, thereafter, adjourned to Wednesday May 3, 2017 for hearing on the application.
The National Conscience Party (NCP) on Thursday said it had concluded arrangements to sue the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) for mandating candidates for the forthcoming council polls to pay nomination fees.
Mr Fatai Ibu-Owo, NCP`s state chairman disclosed the party`s intention in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
He said the suit would be filed at a court in the state between Thursday and Monday.
Ibu-Owo said the step became inevitable as the party had written to the commission twice on the illegality of the fees.
The NCP Chairman wondered why LASIEC would charge chairmanship aspirants, N100,000, Vice – Chairmanship aspirants, N75,000 and Councillorship, N50,000 as nomination fees, when it had enough budget to conduct the polls.
"This is clearly illegal as the participation in the election should be free for all aspirants. We are surely going to resist this and sue LASIEC.
"The state government already budgeted N3billion for LASIEC for the conduct of the election and additional N360 million for its recurrent expenditure, so why the illegal fees?
He said the payment would shut out some political parties as it would mean candidates aspiring for the various positions across the 57 councils would have to pay.
"This cannot stand as there are two court judgments already against the fees. We are going to challenge the illegality in court again," he said.
Ibu-Owo, however, said apart from the issue of nomination fee, the party was ready for the polls and would present candidates for positions in all 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA).
On the flag off of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, the NCP chairman said it was a good development.
He, however, faulted the use of local government offices of INEC for the exercise, saying the method would deny many residents registration.
Ibu-Owo suggested that the registration should be done at the various polling units so that every qualified Lagosian could register and participate in elections.
NAN reports that LASIEC has fixed July 22 for the council elections and July 29 for run-off elections, if need be.
The government of China on Thursday provided life saving nutrition assistance worth eight million dollars to support the United Nations World Food Programme's (WFP) response in drought-hit Ethiopia.
The contribution from China would enable WFP to provide specialised treatment for over 277,000 moderately malnourished children and women due to the ongoing drought that affected parts of the east African country.
La Yifan, the Chinese Ambassador in Ethiopia, said during the handing over ceremony that China is a friendly country, providing support to its best ability.
"We are a developing country, but we obliged to provide assistance to other countries through the World Food Programme,'' he said.
The ambassador appreciated efforts made by the Ethiopian government to reach out to the emergency needs of its drought affected citizens.
He also called on the international community to fulfill the commitments made in the fight against climate change, as a sustainable solution to minimise the occurrence of natural disasters.
John Aylieff, WFP Ethiopia Representative and Country Director, appreciated China's contributions to support people in drought affected Ethiopia.
Aylieff said that the support had come at a crucial moment as the east African country endures the worst drought in 50 years.
"While the government did so much itself, support from the international community was needed.
"It was at this moment that China came forward,'' he said.
Tadesse Bekele, Advisor at Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management, also appreciated the contribution from China, saying that "China is very generous to Ethiopia."
"I am very much delighted that this supplementary food assistance will help those desperate people, and we will be able to save the lives of children and lactating mothers,'' he said.
According to Tadesse, the Ethiopian government is working on proactive measures to minimise the effect of the drought in its effort to save the lives of millions of people.
The Government of Ethiopia and its humanitarian partners had in January officially launched the Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) for 2017.
Tadesse, however, said the government was also looking for 948 million dollars to reach out to 5.6 million people with emergency food and non-food assistance.
Presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, says there is no need for apprehension over the health of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday.
He explained that Buhari's absence at the Federal Executive Council (FEC), meeting on Wednesday was a last minute decision; otherwise, the cabinet and the public might have been alerted in advance.
"As eager as he is to be up and about, the President's doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago.
"President Buhari himself, on his return to the country, made Nigerians aware of the state of his health while he was in London.
"Full recovery is sometimes a slow process, requiring periods of rest and relaxation, as the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed, intimated in his press briefing after the FEC meeting on Wednesday.''
According to him, in spite of the President's lack of visibility, Nigerians should be rest-assured that Buhari has not abdicated his role as Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria.
"The President receives daily briefings on the activities of government, and confers regularly with his Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
"His private residence, in which he has been spending the majority of his time recently, also has a fully equipped office.
"God is the giver of life and health. We are grateful that He has seen our President through the worst period of his convalescence in London. "We are thankful that the President has passed a number of benchmarks already.''
The presidential aide prayed that God continues to see the president through this period of recuperation.
The National Economic Council (NEC), presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday set up a nine-member ad hoc committee to audit the ecological fund.
The Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra, who disclosed at the end of the NEC meeting at the Presidential Villa Abuja, said that this was part of resolutions of the council.
He said that the Accountant General of the Federation had told the council that as at March 31, 2017 the balance of the Natural Resource Fund was N70.9 billion while that of Ecological Fund was N33.6 billion.
R-L; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, NSA Major General Babagana Monguno and minister of State, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed during the NEC Meeting at the Council Chambers Abuja. photo; sunday aghaeze.
"Council decided that an audit of ecological fund be carried out.
"Ad hoc committee comprising of Oyo, Borno, Imo, Kaduna, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Benue and Ministers of Finance and Environment has been set up to do the audit and come up with recommendations on how the fund shall be managed.''
Obiano said that the essence was to re-establish that the balance in the account was correct since it had stood on same amount for many months.
He said that council also resolved that states and local governments should now keep their shares of the funds for interventions as the needs arose in their various jurisdictions.
Obiano also said that Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun also gave an update on the disbursement of the Paris Club Fund refunds and preparations for the next round of payments to the states after the first disbursements.
He also said that the minister disclosed that the Excess Crude Account had a balance of $2.2 billion as at April 26, 2017.
On the operation of efficiency unit of the ministry, he said Adeosun reported that the unit had saved N17 billion for the Federal Government since it was established.
Obiano said that NEC urged states to also establish efficiency units in order to improve efficiency, reduce costs and block leakages in line with the fiscal sustainability plan.
Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau noted that the Paris refund said that the states were complaining about the delay in the release of the remainder, adding that the fund had helped the states to pay salaries and for the country to come out of recession.
He thanked the president for the timely disbursement and said the fund would be used not only for salaries but for projects completion.
He said there were procedures to deal with states which failed to utilize the Paris Club money judiciously.
Lalong said that the VP updated NEC on the progress in the implementation of the Social Intervention Programmes (SIPs) and on some impediments in the implementation by both the federal and state governments.
He said the council resolved to upgrade the states' coordination units for the SIPs to the governors' offices for better collaboration between the Federal and States' governments.
He further said that the Health minister, Prof Isaac Adewole, updated the Council on the outbreak of meningitis in the country.
He said the minister reported that there were 9,646 suspected cases in six states of Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Kebbi and Kaduna with about 767 deaths as at April 25.
He said that the minister noted that about N46.7 billion was required for vaccination of the vulnerable population.
He said the council expressed concern over the ravaging effects of the outbreak and directed the Health Ministry to intensify its intervention efforts "to contain the embarrassing epidemic while advocating for increased funding for health''.
He said that the minister had requested for the establishment of a national health emergency fund to be domiciled in the presidency under the supervision of the NEC Chairman.
The National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, said he also briefed NEC on the general security situation in the country.
He said he gave detailed brief on the prevailing situation between cattle rustlers, herdsmen and farmers, particularly in Kaduna, Taraba and Benue States.
The NSA said that security agencies had begun a nationwide crackdown against gunmen, cattle rustlers, armed militants and other militia groups in the country.
He said that NEC resolved to hold extra ordinary session dedicated to security in the country.
He said there was a consensus for security agencies to collaborate with the various states to deal with security issues.
Russian authorities raided the central Moscow office of an organisation run by one of President Vladimir Putin's most vocal opponents on Thursday ahead of planned protests this weekend across the country.
The organisation, Open Russia, run from abroad by businessman-turned-activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was blacklisted by the Prosecutor General's Office earlier this week as "undesirable."
"Officers who specialise in countering extremism in the country raided Open Russia's office and seized documents'', state media reported.
Open Russia said on its website that officers were taking computers, while the group also described the operation as state-sponsored theft.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned activists that any unauthorised rallies would be dispersed by authorities.
Open Russia has planned to hold protests in dozens of cities, including Moscow, on Saturday.
Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon, was Russia's richest man until he was thrown in jail in 2003 on tax evasion charges that his supporters have denounced as an attempt to thwart his political ambitions.
Khodorkovsky was imprisoned for a decade until Putin pardoned him in December 2013 and he fled the country.
Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo says his administration is for all Edo people irrespective of party affiliations and ethnic backgrounds. The governor, represented by his Deputy, Mr Philip Shaibu, stated this while interacting with a delegation of Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), in Benin on Thursday.
Shaibu when a government had been formed after election, the next stage is for the government to be all inclusive by allowing collaboration. According to him, "we have our ideology, which is clear but that does not mean we will not allow other political parties which admire our leadership style and ideology or who have something meaningful to contribute.
Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki
"We are ready to welcome any member of other political parties with meaningful contributions and ideas.
Chairman of IPAC, Mrs Tracy Agol, said their mission was to promote inter party dialogue and interactions among political parties. She urged Obaseki to be magnanimous enough to accommodate members of other political parties who have something meaningful to contribute in his government.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said 1, 466 Nigerians died in road accidents in the first quarter of 2017, according to its Road Transport Data.
The NBS Road Transport Data for the 1st Quarter of 2017 posted on its website stated that 1,363 of the 1,466 Nigerians that got killed in the period were adults.
"It represents that 93 per cent of the figure are adults, while the remaining 103 Nigerians, representing seven per cent of the figure are children.
"1,164 male victims, representing 79 per cent got killed in road accidents in the quarter while 302 females, representing 21 per cent got killed,'' it stated.
Similarly, the report said that a total of 8,672 Nigerians got injured in the road accidents in the first quarter.
The report stated that 8,151 of the 8,672 Nigerians that got injured represented 94 per cent of the figure.
The report said that 94 per cent of the accidents victims showed that they were adults while the remaining 521 Nigerians, representing six per cent of the figure were children.
It stated that 6,422 males, representing 74 per cent, got injured in road accidents in the quarter while 2,250 females, representing 26 per cent got injured.
According to the report, a total of 2,556 road accidents occurred in the period.
It however, attributed the cause of accident to speed violation, which accounted for 42.69 per cent of the total road accidents reported.
"Loss of control and dangerous driving followed closely as they both accounted for 12.73 per cent and 7.34 per cent of the total accidents recorded.''
The report said that the estimated vehicle population in the quarter was put at 11,458,370.
"Commercial vehicles accounted for 53.8 per cent of the total vehicle population, private vehicles accounted for 44.5 per cent, government vehicles accounted for 1.65 while diplomat vehicles accounted for 0.1 per cent.
"With the total population of the country put at 193,392,517 in 2016, Nigeria's vehicle per population ratio is put at 0.06.
"Data on the category of vehicles involved in the road accidents in the quarter reflected that 59 per cent of vehicles are commercial (2,428), 40 per cent are private (1,617), one per cent are government (55) and the remaining are diplomat (3).''
It further stated that FCT recorded the highest number of road accidents in the period, closely followed by Kaduna and Niger States while Borno and Bayelsa States recorded the least.
"A total of 220,736 national drivers licences were produced in the quarter.
"Lagos and FCT produced the highest number of drivers' licences, while Yobe and Kebbi States produced the least number of national drivers' licences.''
Similarly, it stated that a total of 113,358 vehicle number plates were produced in the period.
"Ebonyi and Anambra states produced the highest number of vehicle plate numbers, while Lagos and Sokoto States produced the least number of vehicle plate numbers.''
Access Bank on Thursday announced impressive performance in all performance indicators as shown by its unaudited result for the first quarter which ended on March 31, 2017.
The bank posted profit after tax of N26 billion during the period compared with N19.4 billion achieved in the same period in 2016, an increase of 34 per cent.
The first quarter results of the bank released in Lagos on Thursday also reported that its profit before tax increased by 38 per cent to N31.2 billion against the N22.6 billion in the same period in 2016.
The bank's profit before tax rose by 38 per cent to N31.2 billion in contrast with N22.6 billion in the same period in 2016.
The bank's gross earnings for the period grew by 44 per cent to N116.0 billion against N80.3 billion recorded in the same period in 2016.
Its balance sheet closed positively with two per cent growth in total assets to N3.54 trillion from N3.48 trillion posted in 2016.
The group' recorded capital and liquidity ratios of 21.0 per cent and 46.3 per cent, respectively.
Mr Herbert Wigwe, the bank's Group Managing Director, was quoted by the statement as saying that 2017 marked the end of its third five-year transformation journey.
Wigwe said that the bank would, in the coming months, focus on its strategic objective of improving profitability.
He said that the bank would continue to improve on profitability and shareholder value by maintaining its capital and liquidity positions.
Wigwe said that the company would implement cost management strategy and exploit retail business opportunities using its digital platforms to deepen market share of the wholesale business.
The Bill for a Law on prohibition of abduction, hostage-taking/kidnapping, cultism and similar activities was passed by the Benue State House of Assembly in Makurdi on Thursday.
House of Representatives
Newsmen, report that during the consideration of the bill, which went through public hearing, the Speaker, Mr Terkimbi Ikyange said it received overwhelming acceptability by the Benue people.
Participants at the hearing agreed that the bill should spell out stiffer punishment for persons convicted of abduction, hostage-taking, kidnapping, cultism and similar activities, to serve as deterrent to others.
The participants also agreed that the bill should provide death penalty for persons convicted of the crime that involved the loss of life.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday said it had offered 100 million dollars to authorised dealers as its intervention to stabilise the foreign exchange market.
Mr Isaac Okorafor, Acting Director of the Corporate Communications Department of CBN. disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Okorafor, however, said that no intervention was made in the retail window in Thursday's auction.
The Central Bank of Nigeria head office in Abuja.
He said that the bank continued its weekly sale of foreign exchange to the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment to meet the needs of low-end users.
The CBN spokesman further said that the bank had observed that quite a good number of dealers were adhering to the forex guidelines.
Okorafor said the CBN would continue to monitor activities of authorised dealers to ensure that no outfit or individual circumvented laid down forex rules.
He urged all concerned to put the Nigerian economy first, adding that the CBN was determined to guarantee the international value of the naira.
The Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) on Thursday in Abuja called on the Federal Government to urgently review the National Minimum Wage.
Mr Peters Adeyemi, Chairman, Joint May Committee of NLC and the Trade Union Congress(TUC) made the call at a news conference where he outlined activities for the commemoration of the 2017 Workers Day.
"The May Day is an auspicious occasion for the working people to reflect on their struggles and make their demands.
" We shall use this opportunity to renew the call for the review of the National Minimum Wage that is overdue for review considering the current economic trends.
"Inflation has increased, the naira has lost its value and the current minimum wage has been completely eroded.
"Therefore, the need and urgency for the review of the current National Minimum Wage, "he said.
Adeyemi also said the celebration was an opportunity to call for the continuous search and eventual release of the remaining Chibok school girls abducted over three years ago.
He said that the event would be used to commemorate victims of the Nyanya bomb blast that occurred on May Day three years ago and other victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Adeyemi, who is also NLC Deputy President, announced that workers would hold rally at the Eagle Square Abuja and in all the capitals of the 36 states of the federation.
He disclosed that the theme of the 2017 May day is `Labour Relations in Economic Recession: An Appraisal', with a lecture on the topic to be delivered by Prof. Toye Olorode.
"The theme suggests that this is a time for us as working class to look at the present economic situation that has witnessed negative downturn and the reality of the moment.
"We need to critically look at the opportunity afforded to us to work towards achieving economic revival.
"We also need to chart a way to a national rebirth, economic recovery and advocate for the engendering of socioeconomic policies that are pro-poor, "he added.
He said that the May Day was a day to honour the heroes who fought for justice across the globe.
Adeyemi called on the state councils of the NLC and TUC to mobilise workers and groups to actively participate in the May Day rally
The senior special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, has said that president Muhammadu Buhari’s absence at the FEC meeting yesterday was a last minute decision. He made this know to newsmen in his tweeter handle on Thursday. Bellow are his tweets:
The Federal Government says it has commenced a detailed cost analysis and financing plan, to achieve the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udo Udoma, said this at the 2017 Annual Public Lecture of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) on Thursday in Abuja.
The Theme of the Lecture is "Economic Management under an Era of Downturn''.
Udoma, represented by his ministry's Director, Macroeconomic Analysis, Mr Tunde Lawal, said a team of experts had been put together to work on the plan in collaboration with the budget ministry and relevant bodies.
"We have commenced the development of the ERPG implementation plan. The implementation roadmap will provide more detailed strategies, timelines and deliverables of the plan on a year-by-year basis.
"The team of experts is expected to work out a more detailed cost estimate and financing plan with detailed key performance indicators for implementing the plan,'' he said.
Udoma said that the government was committed to providing an enabling environment for business to strive and for that reason, it would continue to priotise spending on critical infrastructure.
Udoma said Nigerians would soon begin to feel the impact of the Presidential Enabling Environment Council, which aimed to improve the country's ranking on ease of doing business.
"Furthermore, there is a number of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects included in the 2017 budget in the areas of critical infrastructure.
"This is aimed at creating opportunities for the private sector to participate in the development of the country.
"Therefore, while government is committed to finding the resources to invest on infrastructure, the private sector and well meaning Nigerians should collectively create jobs and put our people back to work,'' he said.
Earlier, the President of the Nigerian Economic Society, Prof Ben Aigbokhan, tasked the Federal Government to identify and promote the development of sectors which Nigeria had comparative advantage over others.
Example of the sectors are the manufacturing and industrial areas.
He said it was important for the government to implement policies that would lead to the industralisation of the country.
To do this, he said it was still necessary for the Central Bank of Nigeria to review its current exchange rate policy, to favour exporters and industrialists.
Aigbokhan also called on the Federal Government to fine-tune the ERPG, which could take the country out of recession and ensure a more sustainable growth in future.
President Mohammadu Buhari, earlier in April, launched the 2017-2020 ERGP, seeking to restore the nation's economic status following the high rate of inflation and recession.
It projects that Nigeria will make significant progress to achieve structural economic change with a more diversified and inclusive economy in five key areas by 2020.
The areas are stable macro-economic environment, agricultural transformation, food security, sufficiency in energy and improved transportation infrastructure.
No comments:
Post a Comment