The World Bank has decried the continued spending by the Nigerian government on petrol subsidy, which it said is on track to gobble up N2.9tn this year.
Its Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, who spoke on Monday at a panel session during the 27th National Economic Summit, said the country could channel the money being spent on subsidy to primary healthcare, basic education and rural roads.
“This year, Nigeria is on track to spend N2.9tn on PMS subsidy, which is more than it spends on health,” he said.
Also speaking at the session, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the Federal Government had made provision for petrol subsidy till the end of June next year.
“In our 2022 budget, we only factored in subsidy for the first half of the year; the second half of the year, we are looking at complete deregulation of the sector, saving foreign exchange and potentially earning more from the oil and gas industry,” she said.
The World Bank director, who likened Nigeria to a malnourished individual needing urgent treatment, said some critical decisions need to be made now for the country to realise its potential.
He said, “I think the urgency of doing something now is because the time is going in terms of retaining the hope of young Nigerians in the future and potential of Nigeria. The kinds of things that could be done right away – the petrol subsidy; yes, I hear that six months from now, perhaps with the PIA(Petroleum Industry Act) coming into effect, this will go away.
“But the fact is can Nigeria even afford to wait for those six months? And there is a choice: N3tn to PMS subsidy which is depriving states of much-needed revenues to invest in basic services.”
The Chairman, Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Prof. Doyin Salami, said he had argued for a long time that subsidy really needed to go.
He said, “With the PIA essentially it makes illegal petrol subsidy and yes, there is a period where NNPC and the new regulatory agencies must calibrate themselves, but at the end of this period – and I think it is about six months, which explains why the minister has said for the first half of the year, there is provision.
“My view will be if we could get it done sooner than that, it will be excellent. It releases money. The key point is simply this: we are now, any which way, at the tail end of that conversation, except if we choose not to obey the law. My sense is we will obey the law and subsidy will be gone.”
There were strong indications on Monday that state governors would soon meet with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the Federal Government’s decision to debit local government accounts.
It was gathered that the governors decided to meet the President after Friday’s Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting ended in a deadlock following the states’ opposition to the commencement of deduction of $418m from the local governments’ accounts to pay private consultants for the Paris Club refund.
It was learnt that commissioners of finance had briefed the governors and that the states would take up the matter with the President last week.
A top official of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, who confided in one of our correspondents, said, “The governors’ meeting with the President is expected to hold this week, because of the urgency of the matter. Without the allocation, the states cannot pay salaries.”
The states were irked at Friday’s last meeting when they were informed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance that deductions from local governments’ allocations had started in order to pay the Paris Club consultants.
The Federal Government had in 2006 paid $12bn to get an $18bn debt write-off by the Paris Club of international creditors.
After realising that the payment was made directly from the revenue accruing to the entire federation, states and local governments that did not owe the Paris Club demanded a refund.
Some consultants claimed that a percentage of the refund as payment for services they said they rendered to the states and local government councils.
Some of the contractors also claimed that they executed projects across the country for the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria.
Governors, who strongly opposed the deductions, insisted that the projects said to have been awarded by ALGON turned out to be mostly non-existent.
The governors, therefore, insisted on a forensic audit, while the contractors and consultants went to court.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, negotiated an out-of-court settlement with the contractors and consultants.
The sum of $418,953,670.59 was agreed on as the judgment debt.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum subsequently went to court to stop the payment of the controversial sum to the consultants.
In a letter dated September 3, 2021 and signed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, P. H. Ogbole, the governors said the money should not be deducted from the local governments’ accounts.
It was learnt that there was confusion at the FAAC meeting on Friday when the states were informed that deductions had commenced despite a subsisting court case on the matter.
When contacted on Monday, the Chairman of the Forum of Commissioners of Finance and Benue State Commissioner for Finance, David Olofu, told one of our correspondents that the new date for the suspended FAAC meeting had not been announced.
He also confirmed that state governors would meet with the President over the controversial deductions.
Olofu disclosed that the commencement of deductions forced FAAC to suspend the revenue distribution for the month of October indefinitely.
The forum chairman recalled that the governors’ forum had objected to the deductions and requested that a forensic audit be carried out to ascertain the true position of things.
Olofu expressed dismay with the commencement of deductions even though the governors objected to such.
According to him, the deduction is illegal because the issue is in court.
He said the deduction should be put on hold until the litigation was discharged.
Olofu stated, “We went to the FAAC meeting for the month of October and noticed that the Paris Club deductions had commenced.
“The assignment is in respect of local government councils though I don’t know the nature of the assignment (work done in local government areas), but it is in respect of consultancy on the Paris Club loan refund.
“The decision was to suspend the distribution of revenue for the month of October pending the resolution of this issue. Recall that the governors’ forum objected to the deductions.”
Speaking on the planned meeting between Buhari and the governors on the issue, Olofu added, “We expect that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum will be meeting with the President to find solutions to this. It is not at our level that the issue can be handled; we are only representing the governors at FAAC.
“I understand that there is litigation on the issue; one would have expected that the deductions would be put on hold until the litigation is discharged.”
Olofu listed other deductions by the Federal Government from the states’ allocations to include bailout and budget support facilities.
Asked when the meeting might be reconvened for revenue distribution, the finance commissioner said there was no definite date yet.
According to him, states may be invited any moment an agreement is reached on the distribution.
“We may be called at any moment; if we are called this evening, it means tomorrow morning we will all meet, but as I am talking now (4.23pm on Monday), I don’t have any information,” he stated.
Another member of FAAC and Delta State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Fidelis Tilije, said in an interview with The PUNCH in Asaba on Monday that the NGF would meet the President on the matter.
He said, “The issue hasn’t been resolved and we are hoping that the NGF will have a meeting with Mr President and we will take it from there.
“As for the allocation for the month of October, Delta State has not received it.”
Responding to the development, the spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Yunusa Abdullahi, asked one of our correspondents to refer all inquiries related to the allocation of funds from the Federation Account to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
When contacted, the Director, Information, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Henshaw Ogubike, said there was no update on the issue from his end.
“There is no update; if there is any update on the issue, I will send it,” he simply stated.
When asked when the next FAAC meeting would be held, Ogubike said, “Don’t ask me for an update, because normally I send the update if there is any; if there is any press release, I will send it.”
But a top official of the finance ministry said a new date for the FAAC meeting would be announced today (Tuesday).
Former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim is spending his third day since he arrived the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EDCC on Sunday.
A close source confirmed to EverydayNews that the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation is yet to regain his freedom from the Commission.
Top People’s Democratic Party, PDP members especially from the South East have been in close contact with regular visits to the EFCC Headquarters.
The APC has been fingered to be behind Amyim’s recent travails but no official statement has come from the main opposition party, PDP.
Anyim’s arrest is said to be in connection with the ongoing probe of a former Aviation Minister, Senator Stella Oduah.
Anyim was grilled on Sunday for several hours in connection with the fund which was traced to a company in which he was a director.
The former senate president reportedly arrived at the EFCC office in the afternoon on Sunday and was quizzed for over six hours.
Anyim has remained up to the time of this report.
This is coming days after Oduah was named in the Pandora Papers as one of 10 Nigerians hiding their wealth in tax havens.
The EFCC is believed to have commenced a probe of Oduah and others named in the report.
A source said, “Anyim’s invitation and interrogation is in connection with a case of money laundering involving a former Aviation Minister and serving senator, Senator Stella Oduah.
”Investigations revealed that part of the aviation ministry’s N780 million was traced to a company in which Senator Anyim has an interest. He is presently cooperating with investigators.”
Ebonyi State Police command, on Monday, confirmed the butchering of a young girl whose name was yet to be identified and two (2) others by a forty (40) years old man, one Chibuike Ochie over undisclosed misunderstanding.
The suspect, Ochie was said to have invaded the farm land wherein a girl and the brother’s wife were farming, including a labourer, and butchered them on Sunday.
Confirming the incident, the Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Police Command, CP Aliyu Garba who spoke through the PPRO, DSP Loveth Odah, said the incident took place in Uburu community, Ohaozara Local Government Area of the State.
Chibuike, it was gathered, got to their farmland, went berserk and started inflicting machete injuries on everybody he found there.
It was learnt that in the process, he killed his sister-inlaw, younger sister and the hired labourer.
According to Odah, investigations were still on to ascertain exactly what caused the attack and killing of the three persons by their own brother.
She, however, cautioned youths in the area to be careful and refrain from taking laws into their hands.
According to Odah, “It was reported that by 1640hrs of 24th of October, 2021, when the family of Ochie were in the farm including a hired labourer that was farming for them on that particular day. One of their brothers, Chibuike Ochie, went into the farm and suddenly started macheting them.
“He succeeded in macheting Ogechi Ochie 32 years old who was said to be the wife of the elder brother and the younger sister Margaret Ochie, 35 years old and the said labourer. The three of them were macheted to death on that farm and he escaped.
“In the process of fleeing the scene, irate youths of that area caught and mobbed him. As I’m talking to you now, he is still critically sick to the extent that he is living on a life support machine.
“Investigation is still on, but it will be properly ongoing when this man survives.
“That is why we keep discouraging the youth from taking laws into their hands especially when a person committed offence like this. If they brought the person to us, he would have told us the reasons he had to do this to his family members and he would have faced the law. But in this case, a lot of money is being spent to revive this person.
“The incident took place at Obegu farm in Uburu. According to the DPO who visited the place, he said the farmland is about 25km away from Uburu town.”
Reality TV star Gifty Powers has slammed Nollywood actress, Etinosa Idemudia, asking her to focus on her ‘poor’ child.
This comes a day after the actress berated Gifty on Monday for hailing Davido as the best father on.
Though Gifty didn’t respond then, Etinosa apologised to the reality TV star for her outburst, while accusing her of chasing clout.
In response, the former Big Brother Naija season four housemate took to her Instagram story on Tuesday to slam the actress, stating that she was unapologetic about her earlier statements about Davido.
She said, “Etinosa, seriously, if you don’t know what to write, at least shut that big shapeless loose lousy thing you call a mouth.
“I wrote what I wrote and I’m so damn not apologetic about it. In fact, I am too damn proud of what I wrote, to the point that I even popped champagne to it.
“Is your baby daddy not showing you and your daughter love? Wetin dey hold your fingers from not celebrating your own?
“If you are still mourning your daddy, then shut the hell up and mourn in peace and don’t be a nuisance.
“Everything na woman this, woman that, Haba. The fact is, we are nothing without a sperm, meaning, without the release of sperm, ovary no go catch anything. Men should be celebrated also.
“Davido, well done you hear. No papa (except my hubby) beta pass you. FYI, I don’t have baby daddies, my dear. I have a husband. A what? A husband. You get it?
“So next time you wanna address me publicly, put my legal title ordained by God, Mrs Gifty Powers. You get it?
“I’m sorry for the outburst , next time say, ‘Me Etinosa, na only in my family wey my baby daddy dey mental and I dey vex.’
“Grandmama Etinosa, please do not try to be unfortunate/useless again. It’s becoming extremely boring now. Seriously woman, focus on that poor child of yours.” (sic)
Following the launch of the much anticipated digital currency, e-Naira, which is the first of its kind in Africa, as social justice expert has raised concerns.
President Muhammadu Buhari had launched the e-Naira on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and its underlying technology, called blockchain, has the ability to improve Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, by $29 billion over the next 10 years, President Muhammadu Buhari had said.
E-Naira, according to Buhari would enable the government send direct payments to citizens eligible for specific welfare programmes as well as foster cross border trade.
The digital currency has the capacity to ensure economic growth through better economic activities, increase remittances, improve financial inclusion and make monetary policy more effective.
But speaking on the issue, the Lead Director of Centre for Social Justice, CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, faulted the launch of e-Naira.
In a chat with DAILY POST, Onyekpere lamented that the newly launched e-Naira adds “no spectacular value” to the economy.
Describing the latest action of the government as “cosmetic,” the CSJ Lead Director wondered what value the digital currency would add to the economy.
He said: “I think the important thing right now is what adds value to the economy in terms of job creation, stabilizing our currency, economic growth, and reducing the run on the Naira.
“So all these, be it e-money or x-money, is not adding any spectacular value; it’s just a different format of the money available.
“For me, it’s not about having the capacity or not, of course we have it; but it’s a little bit cosmetic; what value is it adding to the economy?
“I’m yet to see any major value, is it going to create jobs for the teeming youths? Is it going to return the value of the Naira? Is it going to reduce inflation? Or it’s just one of those formal things that doesn’t hold the substance of the challenge of the Nigerian economy?”
One of the major threats to the digital currency is fraud, and the Nigerian government launched the e-Naira at a time when the country is witnessing an escalation in advanced fee fraud popularly called Yahoo Yahoo.
Some Nigerian youths have taken to Yahoo Yahoo as a shorter route to economic empowerment, which is a direct result of the government’s inadequacies to provide jobs and ensure improvement in the quality of lives.
Recall that a Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas aka Hushpuppi and his cronies had used financial platforms like Bitcoin to hide some of the loots they acquired from Yahoo Yahoo.
However, Onyekpere urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and security agents to be proactive in protecting the digital currency from fraudsters.
He said: “Everything that has an advantage must have a disadvantage. E-money does not necessarily means fraud, and as some people are planning it; there should be security measures to put in place by CBN, security agencies, and financial intelligent unit, who should work towards curtailing such, that is why we pay them.
“That people can commit fraud should not be a reason why we should not operate e-money. I think we should work towards curtailing any negative tendencies.”
Eze Onyekpere is a lawyer with specialization in development law including electricity reforms, fiscal governance, human rights and constitutional reforms. He has worked on electric power sector reforms, privatization, gender and trade policy and liberalization of education.
Thousands of ad hoc workers for the Anambra State governorship election have resigned due to fear of attacks by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), SaharaReporters learnt.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had in May increased the polling units in Anambra State from 4,608 to 5,720 with about 10,000 ad hoc workers required for the governorship poll.
However, despite its declaration of preparedness, many of those who signed up for the role have resigned.
A source said: “INEC is now short of thousands of ad-hoc staff members due to IPOB instructions. Those who initially signed up have now resigned en-masse.”
Meanwhile, there had been a poor response by ad hoc workers who will conduct the poll because of the security situation in the southeast region, particularly with the activities of IPOB.
The group had issued a 12-day ultimatum to the Nigerian Government for the “unconditional release” of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, failure of which the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State may not hold.
IPOB in a statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, on Sunday, gave the Nigerian Government up till November 4 to release Kanu unconditionally, or it would commence a one-week lockdown in the region effective November 5.
The group explained that the one-week sit-at-home order, which would end on November 10, was to press for the release of their leader whom the Nigerian Government was prepared to keep in incarceration ad infinitum for nothing.
The statement read: “Following the adjournment of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s court case to 10th of November 2021 by the Federal High Court, Abuja, we, the great movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), wish to inform Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that IPOB will lock down Biafra land from November 5 to 10 except Sunday, November 7, a day our people worship the Almighty God, Chukwu Okike Abiama, if the Nigeria government fails to release our leader unconditionally before November 4, 2021.
“Our leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be released unconditionally on or before November 4, 2021, because he has not committed any offence known to any law. Failure to release our leader on or before November 4, 2021, our one-week sit-at-home begins on November 5, 2021, till November 10.”
The statement continued: “Although we quite understand the pains and adverse effects of this option on our people, we are compelled to take it to achieve a better purpose in the collective interest of Biafrans.
“We have taken time to analyse what transpired on October 21 when our leader was arraigned in court and discovered that the Federal Government is not sincere, and only wants to humiliate him and keep him perpetually in DSS custody to rot there.
“We all saw how lawyers, journalists, Igbo delegates and respected traditional rulers and other people who came from all around the world to witness his court case were restricted and denied access into the court premises by security agents who kept them outside under the scorching heat of the sun. What a humiliation and wickedness!
“We cannot accept that anymore. We can never allow our leader Onyendu Kanu to be tried secretly, and we can never also allow him to be tried under Sharia law under any guise. Nigeria must follow international laws in handling our leader.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is in a DSS dungeon today because of his passion for Biafra’s independence, and we must sacrifice all we can to ensure that he regains his freedom. He has sacrificed so much for us all, so we must be prepared to sacrifice a little for him.
“Unless the Federal Government releases him unconditionally before November 4, we shall sacrifice one week for him as a warning protest to convey to our oppressors, that Nnamdi Kanu represents over 70 million Biafrans.
“He is innocent of all the charges preferred against him. As long as he is in detention, our individual businesses do not matter so much because he is suffering for us all and we can’t abandon him.”
While regretting the inconveniences that the development may cause the people, it stated that it is a “necessary sacrifice we need to make until we have our full independence. Nobody resident in Biafra land is expected to flout this directive as doing so amounts to challenging the will of the people on the Biafra project.
“This one-week sit-at-home is also to let our oppressors understand that we are not going to tolerate any plan to torment or abandon our leader in the DSS’ custody through frivolous court adjournment. Any plans to subject him to trauma in detention through long adjournment while real terrorists and mass murderers are having fun across the country cannot fly.
“Nnamdi Kanu must be freed because he committed no crime. Asking for a referendum so that Biafrans will decide whether or not they want to continue as part of Nigeria is no crime. He should not suffer for seeking justice for his people.
“We have been enslaved and caged enough by the Fulani-controlled Federal Government of Nigeria and its allies. If we shut down Biafra land just for one week to secure our permanent freedom, it is worth the sacrifice. Everybody should brace up for this sacrifice.”
Nigerian singer and songwriter, Tiwa Savage, has stated that some people will be happy when she’s no more.
The mother-of-one took to Instagram story on Monday to state that she was sad at the passing of her dad and friend, Obama DMW, also known as ’44’, who was also Davido’s aide.
She said, “I was sad at the passing of my dad and 44 but at least they are no longer in this cruel place. Some people will be happy when I am no more.”
The sonorous singer had announced the death of her father, on the 19th of July, 2021.
However, Tiwa Savage’s recent post comes a week after a sex tape featuring the singer and her current lover surfaced online.
As the video went viral after its release on Monday night, some celebrities drummed up support for the singer, as they uploaded her picture and hailed her on social media.
However, some celebrities also berated those who supported the singer.
Amid the scandal, Tiwa Savage had said, “Charge that sh*t to the game and never speak on it again.”
Nigerian singer and songwriter, Tiwa Savage, has stated that some people will be happy when she’s no more.
The mother-of-one took to Instagram story on Monday to state that she was sad at the passing of her dad and friend, Obama DMW, also known as ’44’, who was also Davido’s aide.
She said, “I was sad at the passing of my dad and 44 but at least they are no longer in this cruel place. Some people will be happy when I am no more.”
The sonorous singer had announced the death of her father, on the 19th of July, 2021.
However, Tiwa Savage’s recent post comes a week after a sex tape featuring the singer and her current lover surfaced online.
As the video went viral after its release on Monday night, some celebrities drummed up support for the singer, as they uploaded her picture and hailed her on social media.
However, some celebrities also berated those who supported the singer.
Amid the scandal, Tiwa Savage had said, “Charge that sh*t to the game and never speak on it again.”
Manchester United are considering sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager of the club, Manchester Evening News reports.
Man United hierarchy is giving serious consideration to dismissing Solskjaer before the club’s next Premier League game at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Man United managing director, Richard Arnold, cancelled his appointments on Monday in order to hold urgent talks with Joel Glazer amid mounting pressure on Solskjaer, and an increased clamour for his almost-three year tenure to be brought to an end.
This is coming after Man United suffered an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Liverpool on Sunday at Old Trafford.
The defeat to Liverpool was Man United’s worst-ever home loss to their biggest rivals.
It was also their five defeats in their last nine games, and they are also without a win in their previous four Premier League matches.
It is understood Man United players are on a day off ahead of preparations for the Tottenham clash.
The Red Devils have a rare free midweek due to their elimination from the League Cup against West Ham last month.
Meanwhile, following Man United’s defeat to Liverpool, Solskjaer maintained his squad was on course to succeed under his management.
