CBN Re-Admits United Bank For Africa Into FOREX Market

August 24, 2016

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has re-admitted the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc into the FIREX market, effective from Thursday, August 25.
The apex bank said that the re-admission of UBA followed the bank’s remittance of all outstanding NNPC/NLNG deposits in its possession to NNPC’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) at the CBN.
A statement by the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, ‘Tokunbo Martins, confirmed the new development, even though no mention was made of the remaining eight banks that were similarly barred from partaking in FOREX trade on Tuesday for failure to remit various sums of Dollars of the NNPC due to the CBN. [myad]

Sheriff Hands Borno Attorney General To His Lawyer For Accusing Him Of Sponsoring Boko Haram

Greenbarge Reporters

August 24, 2016

The embattled factional national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff has ordered his lawyers to write to the Attorney General and commissioner of Justice in Borno state, Kaka Shehu, to and demand for the immediate retraction of and apology over statements credited to him during the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA Conference in Port Harcourt, to the effect that he, Sheriff is the mastermind of the Boko Haram sect.
Modu Sheriff, in a statement by his spokesman, Inuwa Bwala, said that he had only made plans to drag the Commissioner to court and demand N10 Billion as damages.
The former Borno governor said that so far, there has never been a commission of enquiry, instituted by the Borno State Government or the Federal Government that have found him culpable, neither has there ever been a security report indicting him, as being alleged.
Modu Sheriff, who had earlier warned on the consequences of any further derogatory comments about his person in connection with the Boko Haram saga, described the commissioner’s comments, which is from all indications, the reflection of the official position of the Borno State Government, as rascally and the height of sycophancy.
Modu Sheriff said that it is the same Boko Haram he is being accused of sponsoring that made him enemy when his government began to clampdown on the radicalization of sermons, by proscribing the sect Boko Haram.
“Very often, they have pronounced death upon me. My family has remained most vulnerable. My own blood brother has been killed by Boko Haram. Three of my relations, including the Governorship candidate had felled to Boko Haram bullets. Several attempts have been made to kill me. My personal houses have been razed down by Boko Haram, amongst so many other dangers I have been facing.
“Common knowledge dictates that I could not have founded and sponsored a group that kills my brothers, burn my property and threatens my existence.”
Modu Sheriff therefore considered it most uncharitable to accuse him sponsor of Boko Haram, adding that Boko Haram has a long and intriguing history that predated his emergence as the Governor of Borno in 2003. “It is verifiable that Boko Haram metamorphosed from the assemblage of some young Muslim radicals in Kanama, Yobe State in 2003 and it’s unholy pronouncements may have given rise to the radical sermons, which my Government proscribed immediately I came to power.
“Against this background, we expect the Borno state government to own up to its failure and the culpability of its officials in the book Haram saga, and stop looking for a scapegoat.” [myad]

Nigeria Proposes 2017 Budget On The Basis Of $42.50 Per Barrel Of Oil

Greenbarge Reporters

August 24, 2016

Nigeria’s government has approved a 3-year spending plan, assuming a benchmark oil price of $42.50 per barrel in 2017 and production at 2.2 million barrels a day.

Minister of budget and national planning said shortly after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday that the budget projected on oil production and prices rising each year to 2019, and the naira recovering to settle at 290 per dollar.

“The highlights are that the government intends to intensify efforts in pursuing non-oil driven economy,” he said. “We’ll continue to spend money on roads, rail transport infrastructure, ports and so on.”

Nigeria’s economy has been devastated by low crude prices and attacks in the southern Niger Delta energy hub that have cut oil production from 2.2 million barrels per day to 1.5 million since January in the OPEC member state.

Udoman said that the projections for 2018 and 2019 were $45 and $50 a barrel and output of 2.3 million and 2.4 million, respectively.

He said that the government is assuming a rate of 290 naira per dollar. The currency closed at 305.50 on the official market on Wednesday and had hit a record low of 402 naira on the black market during the session. Currency forwards put the naira at 388 to the dollar in 12 months’ time.

Nigeria budgeted a record N6.06 trillion of expenditure this year, 2016, assuming oil production of 2.2 million barrels per day at a price of $38 a barrel.

But with low oil prices, the government has struggled to fund the budget. It is now seeking advisers to manage a $1-billion eurobond it intends to offer this year.

Udoma forecasted economic growth rates of 3 percent for 2017, 4.6 percent for 2018 and 4.4 percent for 2019, up from a contraction of 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2016. [myad]

Kerry Passionate About Ending Boko Haram, Boosting Nigeria Economy –US Official

Greenbarge Reporters

August 24, 2016

The United State of America’s Secretary of State, John Kerry was believed to have made strong statement when he had two-hour talks with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday on ways to quickly bring the Boko Haram insurgency to an end even as to how to boost the country’s economy.

He was said to have made “very strong commitments” on ways to ramp up military assistance to help Nigeria defeat the extremist group Boko Haram, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.

In talks with Nigerian President Buhari, Kerry “made very, very strong commitments to the government that we are going to look at what we can do differently.”

He added that Kerry had told his staff to look at ways to boost military cooperation with Nigeria.

The official said Kerry had stressed that more needed to be done in working with neighbouring countries, as well as Britain and France, “so we can ramp up and bring this fight to closure.”

The U.S. is currently considering the sale of attack aircraft to Nigeria, which is subject to review by Congress.

“We have been working with them to make sure they can afford it, and they know how to use it,” the official said.

The official said a large part of the conversation during the one-hour meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja was dedicated to ways of boosting economic growth in Nigeria.

Nigeria is in the middle of its worst economic slump in decades. Falling oil revenues have hit public finances and the value of the naira, Nigeria’s currency.

The United States has long pushed Nigeria to loosen its grip on the currency to help boost private investment.

“It was a huge topic,” the official said of the discussions about the economy during the meeting.

“The U.S. has previously offered to send experts to work with Nigeria’s treasury.

“The Secretary made offers to provide additional assistance on the economy,” the official added.

Buhari noted during the talks that the situation in the Niger River Delta, where Nigeria faces violent unrest from local militants, was “making it hard for the government to continue to address the broader problems.” [myad]

Lagos University Gives ‘Yello-Card’ To 84 Students Over Indecent Dressing

Greenbarge Reporters

August 24, 2016

Authorities of the Lagos State University (LASU) have issued warning letters to 84 students in different departments for indecent dressing, even as it disqualified a student from contesting the forthcoming students’ union election.
The decision of the management is contained in a statement from the Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations (CIPPR) said that the Students Affairs Division (DSA) of LASU issued the warning letters to the 84 students for flouting the dress code of the institution.
A breakdown revealed that eight of the affected students are in the final year, three in 300 level, 20 in 200 level and 43 in 100 level.
Details of the students sanctioned showed that Faculty of Management Sciences to the list with 24 students, followed by Faculty of Arts with 18, Sciences 16, Social Sciences and Education recorded 11 students each and School of Communication has four students.
‘’The students have been magnanimously pardoned by the university authority and were warned to desist from the act of indecent dressing, henceforth or face disciplinary action, the CIPPR statement noted’’.
That was even as, the LASU management has disqualified one of the contestants from the Lagos State University Students Union (LASUSU) presidential race. The action Daily Sun gathered is generating ripples.
Yusuf Omotola, a 300 level Economic Education Department, a presidential candidate in the students union was disqualified by the students’ affairs division for concealing his suspension at Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka.
The statement alleged that Omotola was suspended from the college on allegation of breach of peace and cultism in 2012 stressing ‘’there is no documentary evidence to prove that he has been cleared of this allegation or that his suspension from FCE Technical, Akoka has been vacated’’.
“Mr. YUSUFF, Wasiu Omotola was given several opportunities to redeem himself by voluntarily and honourably opting out of the LASUSU presidential race. However, such magnanimous entreaties were met with utter disdain and unbridled arrogance.
“It is on record that Mr. YUSUFF, Wasiu Omotola flagrantly refused to complete the security background check form made available to all contestants in the LASUSU general election race, DSA office noted.’’
The statement explained that in consonance with LASU management’s policy of zero tolerance to cultism and other forms of gangterism, the presidential aspirant, stands disqualified pending when he can provide documentary evidence that the allegation against him is false.
When Daily Sun called his mobile line five time, Omotola did not respond. [myad]

Internally Displaced Persons Turn Street Beggars In Borno – Civil Defence

Greenbarge Reporters

August 24, 2016

The Borno state Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim, has confirmed that some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) have abandoned their camps and turned street beggars in the state.

The Commandant who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri, the state capital said that the situation is an eye sore that he would do everything possible to stop the begging culture in the camps.
Abdullahi Ibrahim said that many of the IDPs who have embarked on begging for survival are those who are taking refuge with people in host communities.

Begging by the IDPs, he said: “poses danger to motorists and the beggars who can be killed or maimed by accident and even be kidnapped or infiltrated by the insurgents.

“They are also exposed to different health hazards because the beggars, mostly aged between four and seven, spend their whole day on the streets in rain and sun.

“If the ugly trend is not checked, it will encourage even the IDPs that have been relocated to liberated communities to come back and engage in begging.”

The commandant appealed to the residents of the host communities to help in checking the ugly trend before it gets out of hand. [myad]

Pope Francis Condemns New Form Of Slavery

Greenbarge Reporters

August 24, 2016

Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis, has condemned what he termed “new forms of slavery” as the United Nations remembered the slave trade.

The pontiff made the condemnation in Vatican City as the World commemorated UN International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

Pope Francis said that the new forms of slavery such as human and organ trafficking, forced labour, and prostitution, were true crimes against humanity.

Slave Trade and its Abolition day fall on August 23 because on that day in 1791 a slave rebellion started in Haiti, leading to the abolition of slavery and the country’s independence from France in 1804.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis made an unscheduled visit to a Catholic charity in Rome offering shelter to women rescued from the sex trade, where he met 20 former prostitutes. myad]

42 Year Old Woman Snatches Her Daughter’s Husband, Marries Him, But…

Greenbarge Reporters

August 24, 2016

A 42 year old woman who visited her daughter in her husband house successfully snatched the son-in-law, but two months later, the son-in-law is seeking to remarry his original wife, the woman’s daughter. The incidence happened in India.

The 22-year old Mahto Suraj, had earlier abandoned his wife and married his mother-in-law, Asha Devi. Mahto claimed to have fallen in love with his 42-year-old mother-in-law when she came to stay with him and his wife, Mahto Lalita, in the village of Puraini in Bihar, in the north-eastern part of India in 2015.

However, two months into his marriage to his mother-in-law, Mahto has said that he had realized his mistakes and is now seeking a divorce from his mother-in-law and wants to go back to Lalita, his abandoned wife.

Meanwhile, when Lalita got wind of their romance, she asked her mother out of her matrimonial home but her husband objected and later eloped with Devi to a neighbouring town where he married her.

Mahto went ahead to marry his mother-in-law despite oppositions from villagers.

However, after two months of marriage, the ‘couple’ is begging for forgiveness.

Mahto said he has come back to his senses and wants to go back to his wife.

He said: “I have come to realize my foolishness. I admit I have committed the mistake, but will never repeat in future. Now, I no longer treat her (Devi) as my wife, rather, I have started paying her regard as a mother and an in-law that she is.

“I am on my knees, I’m begging Lalita to take me back home for the sake of our son.”

On her part, Devi reportedly said she too has realized her mistake and sought for forgiveness, saying she will divorce her son-in-law.

Devi said: “I no longer treating him as my husband, but as a son-in-law.

“We have already filed a divorce petition in the court and I want to return to my husband as soon as possible.” [myad]

Senate Leader, Ndume Says National Assembly Is Broke, Can’t Pay Salaries

Greenbarge Reporters

August 23, 2016

Leader of the Senate, Ali Ndume, has said that the National Assembly is broke and experiencing difficulties in meeting its financial obligations.
Ndume told news men in a chat that the situation is so bad that legislators are not receiving their allowances as and when due.
“I know that the whole country is in financial difficulty, not only the National Assembly.
“I have been in the National Assembly since 2003, but things keep getting worse. I think they paid us last month’s salary on the 16th of the following month or thereabout.”
He, however, said that the situation is not peculiar to the legislature, adding that other arms of government, including states, are facing similar problems.

“It is not only with the National Assembly; some states have not been able to pay salaries for six months, one year.
“Some states were even asking their workers to go and farm for two days and work for the other three days in a week. Even in the Presidency, they have tightened their belts on their expenditure and so, it’s a general phenomenon in the country.
“We used to receive running costs or allowances quarterly but now it is monthly and it doesn’t come as and when due.”
The Senate leader complained that Nigerians have had a wrong impression of the workings of the legislature, adding that Nigerians appear to see the legislators as corrupt which he said is not true.
“If the National Assembly is so corrupt and you can make much money, then tell me one National Assembly member that is living in luxury after leaving office. Some of my colleagues who lost out in the 2015 election are struggling to pay their children’s school fees; some of them are even struggling to take care of their health.
“If the National Assembly was where you come and make a lot of money, how come one year after leaving you cannot meet your basic needs,’’ he asked rhetorically.” [myad]

John Kerry In Sokoto Caliphate

Greenbarge Reporters

August 23, 2016

The United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry visited the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III in his palace in Sokoto on Tuesday, 23. Kerry is the first American Chief Scribe to have so visited the historic Caliphate.

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