The leader of Uganda’s main opposition party, Bobi Wine, has said that the government of President Yoweri Museveni has placed his wife, his 18-month-old baby and him under arrest.
Bobi Wine tweeted today, January 19 that his family had been stuck with the baby for the days they had been under house arrest.
“They are keeping me and my wife under house arrest because they don’t want us to address the nation on the way forward, they don’t want us to talk to the press.”
He tweeted further: “Day Six under house arrest and we’re still stuck with an 18-month-old baby who had paid a visit to her auntie (my wife) before we were raided & besieged. The Dad has been denied access to her. We have run out of food and milk. No one is allowed to leave or come into our compound.”
Bobi Wine had earlier told FRANCE 24 that his life and that of his wife were in danger as the government continued to keep them under house arrest.
He said that troops raided the headquarters of his party, National Unity Platform (NUP), yesterday, January 18 as staff tried to prepare a legal challenge to Museveni’s declared victory in last week’s presidential election.
“My wife and I are under house arrest. The military surrounded our house; more than 400 of them have surrounded our house. We are not allowed to leave; nobody is allowed to leave or to come in. We have run out of food. My wife was assaulted yesterday when she was trying to go to the garden to pick food.
“My lawyers are not allowed to see me and party officials are also not allowed to visit me and also all journalists are blocked from coming to see me so we are isolated, myself and my wife. We are in danger because we don’t know the intention of the soldiers, none of them is talking to us. They beat my security guard so bad just because he was asking them what they want, they could not identify themselves. Some of them are in military uniform while others are in plainclothes but are having automatic assault rifles.
“I am afraid for my life. I am afraid for my wife’s life but we must keep going because what we are doing is moral and it is just.”
Speaking about the atrocities being committed by the government, he said: “Just yesterday, four people were shot dead in a city called Masaka.”
Bobi Wine urged the Ugandan public to reject the results announced by the country’s electoral body, saying they did not reflect their wish.
He, however, vowed to challenge the actions of Museveni through “non-violent” and “legal” means.
The Internet was partially restored in Uganda on Monday, almost five days after a near-total blackout was imposed across the country ahead of elections the opposition says were rigged.
Long-term leader, Museveni, was declared the ‘winner’ of the January 14 presidential election marred by allegations of massive rigging and intimidation of opposition members, securing 58.6 percent of the vote and a sixth term after 35 years in power.
Bobi Wine has rejected the results, describing the election as a sham.
The headquarters of Wine’s NUP party in Kampala was under police guard Monday in what the opposition leader called a “raid” by security forces.
“Museveni after committing the most vile election fraud in history, has resorted to the most despicable forms of intimidation,” Wine tweeted.
The run-up to polling day was marred by bloodshed and a sustained crackdown on government critics and Museveni’s rivals.
At least 54 people were shot dead in November over two days of street protests over Wine’s arrest, and the opposition leader was repeatedly detained and his rallies broken up with tear gas and live rounds.
The United States said it was “deeply troubled” by reports of violence and irregularities in last Thursday’s poll, though Museveni declared it the cleanest in Uganda’s post-independence history.
Yesterday, the UN Watch took to its Twitter account to allege that Museveni committed “widespread voter fraud” to win the just-concluded presidential election.
The group tackled the 76-year-old for shutting down the country’s Internet ahead of the election.
The post read: “Congratulations to Uganda President Yoweri Museveni on winning re-election after murdering, imprisoning and silencing opponents, shutting down the Internet, and committing widespread voter fraud.”
Bobi Wine was the frontrunner of the opposition candidates running against the veteran leader, who has ruled uninterrupted since taking power as a rebel leader in 1986.
World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has accused manufacturers of Coronavirus vaccines of placing too much emphasis on rich countries to the detriment of poorest ones.
Ghebreyesus blasted vaccine manufacturers for chasing regulatory approvals in wealthy nations rather than seeking global approval.
“I need to be blunt. The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure. And the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries.”
Countries around the world stepped up their coronavirus vaccine campaigns today, January 19, with Russia offering jabs to all citizens, while an independent probe found fault with the early response to the pandemic.
Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Beijing could have acted faster when Coronavirus first surfaced in China a year ago, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response concluded in a report.
It added that countries, where the virus was likely to spread, should have put containment measures in place immediately.
With the global death toll now past two million, many governments are betting on mass vaccination to throttle the pandemic, while tightening lockdown measures at the same time.
Nationwide rollouts from Brazil to Azerbaijan were getting underway Monday, while Britain and France were widening inoculations to all elderly people.
In Russia, the government welcomed all citizens to sign up for the homegrown Sputnik V jab — but while it was widely available in Moscow, many regions reported receiving only between 5,000 and 15,000 doses in the country of 146 million.
India’s campaign was also facing teething problems as it emerged that almost a third of the 300,000 people invited for a shot on the opening day didn’t turn up.
“These are initial days and we understand people are waiting to see how the procedure pans out,” said Suneela Garg, a member of the coronavirus task force for New Delhi.
“These numbers will go up as confidence is strengthened. And for that, we have to tackle misinformation.”
Israel, praised for one of the world’s fastest rollouts, has secured a significant stock of vaccines partly by pledging to quickly share data on its impact with Pfizer, according to an agreement with the drug company.
This is even as Authorities worldwide have been mounting public information campaigns to address concerns over vaccine safety, and in the face of powerful online anti-vax movements.
After 33 elderly people who had received a first dose died in Norway, authorities there stressed there was no proven link between the jabs and the deaths. They recommended, however, that doctors consider patients’ frailty before immunising them.
For Syrian refugee Fatima Ali, receiving her vaccination was cause for tears of joy.
“It’s a gift from God,” the 70-year-old said as she was vaccinated outside a clinic in Mafraq, Jordan.
Despite the mass immunisation campaigns now under way, spiralling infection rates have left governments reliant on continuing curbs on people’s daily lives.
Nearly three million people in China’s northeastern Jilin province were put under lockdown Monday after a surge in cases, while Malawi introduced an overnight curfew.
Globally, travel remains at a trickle of its usual pace — and there were signs Monday of the price being paid by companies and countries reliant on tourism.
Disneyland Paris — Europe’s biggest tourist attraction — announced it was delaying its reopening until April, while train operator Eurostar made a desperate plea for British state support.
“Without additional funding from government there is a real risk to the survival of Eurostar,” the cross-Channel service said.
Soaring public debt in Greece, Spain and Italy was on the agenda at eurozone finance ministers’ talks Monday — with the highly tourist-dependent nature of these economies compounding the problem.
Smaller business owners are also fed up after months of restrictions that have left them struggling for survival.
In Poland there had been plans for a major campaign of civil disobedience in tourist-reliant ski resorts, but while some restaurants reopened in defiance of the rules, most businesses ultimately decided to stay shut.
In Japan meanwhile, there are growing doubts on whether the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics can go ahead in July.
The international extravaganza is hugely dependent on travel, but Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he was committed to holding the Games as “proof of mankind’s victory over the virus”.
In just one example of the remaining hurdles facing travellers, Britain imposed a 10-day isolation on all arrivals, who will have to provide a negative Covid test taken at most 72 hours before departure.
The UK is battling an apparently highly infectious strain of the coronavirus that emerged late last year — one of several potent new variants causing concern, along with others first detected in South Africa and Brazil.
Despite the doom and gloom, in Milan fashionistas were dreaming of life beyond Covid, with a digital edition of Men’s Fashion Week offering up colourful collections for Winter 2021.
Many labels looked to the new norms of working-from-home for inspiration, however, with both Fendi and Zegna showcasing coats resembling dressing gowns.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced that it generated a total sum of N4,952,243,711,728.37 in tax revenue in the year 2020, representing about 98 percent of the national tax target of N5.076 trillion set for the FIRS by the Federal Government.
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Muhammad Nami, who made this known today, January 19 at a media briefing in his Abuja, said that this near 100 percent collection feat was all the more remarkable when placed against the backdrop of the debilitating effects of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy; the all-time low price of crude oil in the international market; business disruptions and lootings during the #EndSars protests; generous tax waivers granted by the FIRS to ease the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown; additional tax exemptions granted to small companies in the 2019 Finance Act; and insecurity in some parts of the country.
While analysing the significance of the 2020 performance, he further noted that the FIRS recorded this feat at a time when the price of oil hit an all-time low. In other words, oil which used to contribute over 50% in tax returns through the Petroleum Profits Tax in previous years, accounted for only 30.6% contribution to the tax revenue generated in 2020. He also added that the non-oil tax collection was 109% in 2020, which is 9% higher than the previous year.
Nami attributed the FIRS revenue generation success in 2020 to a number of reforms initiated by the Board and Management of the Service under his leadership. The reforms included capacity building for members of the staff; improved staff welfare package; promotion and proper placement of staff; deployment of appropriate technology for tax operations; segmentation of taxpayers to ease tax compliance; and continuous collaboration with relevant stakeholders, among others.
Nami commended the conscientious taxpayers in the country and dedicated members of staff of the FIRS nationwide for their support and devotion to work which made this performance possible despite the numerous obstacles encountered by the Service in 2020.
“The FIRS is optimistic this current fiscal year 2021 will be better than 2020. We shall perform exceedingly well given that our Service reforms are expected to yield greater dividends, especially as different parts of tax administration are being automated. We are also optimistic that exploration activities will improve in the oil sector and increase the prospect of higher tax revenue from the sector. Similarly, the ongoing reforms by the Service together with increased stakeholder collaborations will brighten the prospect of improved voluntary compliance and consequently higher tax revenue generation for the country this year and beyond.”
On November 2, 2016, a week before the US Presidential elections of Nov. 8, 2016, Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature told a group of students at Oxford University’s Eretgun House that if Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, he would leave the United States and cut his green card into pieces. The Green Card is a permanent residence permit that allows you to live and work in the United States. For more than 20 years, Professor Wole Soyinka had lived in the United States teaching in many universities including Harvard, and the New York University’s Institute of African American Affairs where he was a scholar-in-residence at the time of the 2016 Presidential election. “The moment they announce his victory, I will cut my green card myself and start packing up,” he announced. He called this, “Wolexit”, a pun on “Brexit”. Nobody has any evidence whether the Nobel Laureate actually wielded a pair of scissors and physically sheared his green card, but it was confirmed that he rendered it “inoperable.” Soyinka said he “felt disaster in my marrow”.
He added: “I had a horror of what is to come with Trump…I threw away the card and I have relocated and I am back to where I have always been.” Nigeria, that is. Soyinka was 82 at the time. He was further quoted as saying: “Trump’s wall is already under construction…Walls are built in the mind, and Trump has erected walls, not only across the mental landscape of America, but across the global landscape.” Soyinka in 2016 decried what he called the rise of “ultra-nationalism” and its inherent dangers. He kept his promise. He gave Trump’s America a wide berth, and in the four years that Donald J. Trump served as America’s 45thPresident, Professor Wole Soyinka was proven right up till the very last moments of the nightmare that was the Trump Presidency.
The “horror of what is to come” that Soyinka spoke about, the nightmare that he foresaw, will end at noon EST tomorrow, January 20, as Donald Trump exits the White House. He will be doing so after four years of pulling down bridges, and erecting walls of division within America and between America and the world. In four years, the Trump Presidency became a “thing around the neck” of the United States, and a fish-bone in the throat of the world. As he leaves the White House tomorrow, rather reluctantly, with a terribly low approval rating of 29%, the 74 million Americans who voted for him, in the November 3, 2020 Presidential election, the pro-Trump coalition, the ultra-right Trumpers that he pumped up with the oxygen of hate, the insurrectionists who bought into his politics of delusion meant to delegitimize the victory of Joseph R. Biden, that is – those who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, may feel pain that their era has ended, at least for now, but for the rest of the world, Trump’s exit is a big relief, the end of horror and a terrible nightmare.
It may be too early to make a final statement on the legacy of the Trump administration, legacy being a function of actual performance in office, post-office realities and a number of other factors, but for Trump, it can be confidently said that he was a bad President, or that he will end up as one of the worst Presidents ever in the history of the United States. He was the architect of his own undoing. Trump broke down the norms and traditions of the American Presidency and sought to reconstruct the office in his own image. He tried to govern through Twitter. From that platform, he rained personal insults on perceived enemies or opponents, curses as well, and tons of mistruths and outright lies. He promoted conspiracies, hate, right-wing extremism and racial wars. No institution was too strong for him to denigrate. No individual was considered deserving of respect. He insulted and attacked members of his own cabinet. His administration had the highest turnover of staff in the history of America’s Presidency. He wanted to bend the entire American institution to his own will, and whoever raised a voice of objection was immediately tagged an enemy and fired. Foreign leaders were not spared either, not to talk of leaders of American institutions. The only thing that mattered was Trump’s opinion and ego. He ran a narcissistic Presidency that confounded even the historians. They had never seen anything like that before.
Trump’s politics was hidden under the cloak of American exceptionalism or America First. Pretending to be defending the interests of the United States, he embarked on a twin policy of isolationism and unilateralism in international relations. He reversed the gains of the Barack Obama era, internally and internationally. Every major agreement was not good enough for him: be it with Iran or America’s North American neighbours, the Paris Climate Accord, trade with Europe or any existing multilateral obligations. Trump blocked the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution mechanism and sought to impose his own will on the multilateral organization. He reversed the US policy on the Middle East situation, even if he claims credit for the normalization of ties between Israel and some of its Arab neighbours. He built walls against immigrants from Latin America, Muslim countries and those countries he labelled “shithole countries” which included Nigeria, by the way. He separated children from their mothers and was never reluctant to violate the rule of law or the course of justice.
The critics of his critics argue that he is not given enough credit for what they regard as his accomplishments. Trump’s base is the Christian evangelical community in the United States and other parts of the world including Nigeria, the extremist, conservative wing of global ideology for whom any form of liberalism is a scriptural sin. His other base is the ultra-right, ultra-nationalistic band of racial haters, for whom his slogan “Make America Great Again” simply means “Make America White Again”, the neo-fascists, the Ku Klux Klan, the so-called Proud Boys who under Trump’s watch reversed the gains of the racial justice movement in the United States. Trump claimed that he created more jobs for African Americans and other minorities, and that he stood up against China and America’s enemies like Iran and North Korea. He also claims credit for economic growth and tax reforms. But the damages that he brought about dwarf whatever he achieved. It will take a while to repair the damage. It will take years for the United States to recover from the Trump nightmare. It may take even much longer for the Republican Party, the Grand Old Party, the party which he now leaves behind, divided and shell-shocked with the prospect of uncertain mid-term election prospects.
Trump’s real undoing was in the last year of his Presidency. It was in the last year that the cookies crumbled and he had to pay the price for all the lies and deception of the first three years. First, COVID-19 happened. It was Trump’s nemesis. His failure to properly respond to the pandemic exposed the underbelly of his Presidency. Trump was blinded by his own ego. He became more of a scientist than the scientists themselves whose informed views he openly derided and contradicted. He even prescribed his own drugs for the virus, cutting many lives short in the process. He launched Operation Warp Speed but that anti-COVID response could not achieve its objectives because Trump stood in its way most of the time. He even politicized the wearing of masks. By the time his Presidency entered its last week, 23 million Americans had been infected, over 400,000 Americans had died. The vaccine reserve that his administration had promised Americans turned out to be a lie at the critical moment. Those who argue that if there had been no COVID-19, perhaps Trump would have won a second term may well be right, but then leadership is the sum total of what those in positions of authority elect to do.
Second, there was the mishandling of racial justice following the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans, victims of police brutality and criminal injustice in the United States who became the catalysts for the unveiling of the racism and fascism at the heart of the Trump Presidency. Every Black vote for Biden in the red states that turned blue, and in the swing states, was a vote in protest against the wanton dehumanization of minorities and the rise of extremism under Trump’s watch, a vote as it were, for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Third, Trump burnt his fingers with the desperate attempt to push the narrative that the Presidential election was fraudulent and that he, Trump won the election. He cut a pathetic figure pursuing recounts which changed nothing and litigations which only further affirmed Joseph R. Biden as the rightful winner of the election. He was humiliated on November 3, the day of the election. He lost the popular vote by 7 million votes, the first American President to lose the popular vote twice. On December 14, he was again humiliated when the electoral college confirmed Joe Biden as winner. He was further disgraced on January 5, in the two Senate run-off elections in the state of Georgia which the Republicans lost giving the Democrats a narrow majority of 50 -51 in the US Senate. No other American President has been so consistently humiliated.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back was on January 6, 2021, when President Trump ordered his supporters to storm Capitol Hill to stop those who wanted “to steal the votes” by ratifying the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States. This incitement of domestic terrorists against the seat of American democracy was an attempted coup, appropriately classified as high misdemeanour and a crime against the state by the House of Representatives which has since impeached Trump. He is the first American President to be impeached twice, first in 2019 and now in 2021. He faces the prospect of a trial and a conviction by the US Senate and the likelihood of his being barred for life from ever holding another public office in the United States. Trump leaves office tomorrow as a one-term President, a tragic figure done in by his own hubris. Corporate America has since abandoned him. His Twitter account, the platform from where he held court for four years has been banned permanently. He faces a barrage of criminal and civil suits after office.
He remains stubborn nonetheless. On the eve of his departure, he insists on exercising Presidential powers by announcing an expansive list of presidential pardons. It is hoped that he would not take the extra-ordinary step of including himself or his family members in the list, for that would raise Constitutional issues and amount to an express admission of guilt. He has also chosen to break with tradition. He has refused to reach out to the Bidens. He has not invited them to the White House. He is not even likely to leave a farewell note for his successor on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. He wants it on record that he is not happy he lost the election. He is such a sore loser, isn’t he? He won’t even attend the Inauguration on January 20. He is the first American President in modern history to shun the inauguration of his successor. But he is not the first in American history and he probably would not be the last.
In 1801, John Adams, America’s second President was so angry he took the 4.30 am coach for Baltimore out of Washington DC, on the day his friend and successor, Thomas Jefferson was being sworn in. His son, John Quincy Adams, the sixth US President, similarly shunned the swearing in of his successor, Andrew Jackson in 1829. He went horse-riding on the day of inauguration. The contempt was mutual. Andrew Jackson blamed John Quincy Adams for the death of his wife! In 1869, Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln’s successor, also did not attend the swearing in of Ulysses S. Grant as President. Johnson was in the cabinet room signing some bills and chatting with friends as another President assumed office. In 1974, Richard Nixon missed Gerald Ford’s swearing in. He had just resigned, so he left Washington immediately.
Tomorrow, Trump intends to leave Washington early morning for Palm Beach, Florida, about 1, 000 miles away. He will still have in his possession the nuclear briefcase and the nuclear codes called the “biscuit”. But that would not matter. The nuclear codes will be changed at noon EST. Trump can then keep the empty briefcase in his possession as a memento! The nightmare is thus over. It is a new dawn in the United States. But will Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka restore his Green Card and embrace Biden’s America? Just asking.
Two former super-government employees, in the persons of the ex Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Jonah Ogunniyi Otunla and ex-Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Inde Dikko have refunded N6.3 billion and N1.9 billion respectively, totaling N8.2 Billion as part of what they stole while in the services of the federal government
While Otunla served as the AGF between 2011 and 2015, Dikko was the Customs’ Comptroller General between 2009 and 2015.
The details of events that precipitated the refunds are part of documents that the former officers of the federation submitted in court in their suits against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).
The former senior officials in their suit, are challenging the decision of the agencies to insist on prosecuting them on corruption charges after they were told to make refunds in lieu of prosecution.
According to Otunla, the suspended acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, had promised that should he return funds traced to him, companies linked to him, and his associates, he would not be prosecuted.
He said that sometime in 2015, he was invited by a team of EFCC investigators,that was probing alleged diversion of funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) pension funds.
Otunla said that he met with Magu in the course of the investigation, when the then acting EFCC chair told him to “refund the monies linked to your companies and nobody will prosecute you.”
He said based on Magu’s promise, he had a reconciliatory meeting with the investigator, where he immediately undertook to make available some funds as refunds.
In line with the agreement, Otunla said one of the companies linked to him – Stellar Vera Development Ltd – refunded N750m; another company – Damaris Mode Coolture Ltd – refunded N550m, while the two firms later made an additional joint refund of N2,150,000,000.00.
He added that, at a point, he raised several bank cheques for N10m in favour of the EFCC which he handed to its Economic Governance Section.
Otunla said in all he made a refund of N6,392,000,000.00 to the Federation Account through the EFCC.
Otunla is asking the court, in the suit he filed against the EFCC, to, among others, hold that in view of the assurance given to him by Magu, which informed his refund of the money, he could no longer be prosecuted for his actions while in office.
Dikko said too that he entered an agreement with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami “to return $8m or its equivalent in naira atN197 to a dollar.”
As one of the court documents shows, Dikko explained that shortly after he retired, he entered into an agreement on May 25, 2016 with the AGF and the Director General of the State Security Service.
The ex-Customs boss said he met with the two Federal Government’s representatives at the International Hotel, Park lane, Mayfair, London, during which Malami directed him “to return $8m or its equivalent in naira, at N197 to a dollar so as to prevent the Federal Government of Nigeria from prosecuting me.
According to Dikko, he complied fully with the directive of the AGF by paying the money in its naira equivalent.
Recently, Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja, in a ruling agreed with Dikko that he could no longer be prosecuted by the ICPC in view of the agreement with the AGF.
Justice Mohammed cited an earlier decision by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba (also of the Federal High Court, Abuja) in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/587/2018 in which Justice Dimgba had found that in view of the agreement with the AGF, Dikko could no longer be prosecuted by the EFCC and any other federal prosecuting agency in relation to his activities while in office.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has concluded plans to flood Nigerian markets with about 300,000 metric tonnes of maize from strategic anchors under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) of the bank..
it believed that the release of such number of maize will trigger off reduction in the current price of maize, which is now N155,000 per metric tonne.
A statement from the apex bank today, January 18, said that the anticipated release follows moves the bank, in conjunction with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in the last quarter of 2020, to facilitate import waivers to four agro-processing companies to import 262,000 tonnes of maize to bridge the shortfall in production and augment local production.
It said that the release of 300,000 metric tonnes in February 2021 will also increase demand for the crop and ultimately enhances the gains of maize farmers.
The statement recalled that prior to the CBN-NCS collaboration, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the release of 30,000 tonnes of maize from the National Strategic Grain Reserve to support the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) at a subsidized rate.
In a media chat in Abuja, the National President of the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Alhaji Bello Abubakar, attributed the current shortfall in the quantity of maize available in the market, to include insecurity around the major maize producing belt of Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and part of Kano states. Alhaji Bello also identified the activities of hoarders and middlemen who engage in hoarding of the grain.
Also speaking, a prime anchor under the maize production, Dr. Edwin Uche, noted that banditry, drought in some parts of the country in 2020 and activities of middlemen are responsible for the current high price.
He however opined that the planned dry season farming which is first of its kind in the country, timely distribution of inputs to farmers and improved security, would go a long way to enhance production andensure stability in price. He expressed optimism about the price crashing to N120,000 per metric tonne in the next couple of days.
Another major stakeholder in the maize production, Ayodeji Balogun of AFEX, attributed the hike in price to cash-flow problem of farmers which has compel farmers to resort to collecting cash from buyers ahead of production and resort to side-selling, especially across the borders of neighbouring countries due to higher prices.
It will be recalled that the CBN in 2020 had provided credit facility and seed support to maize farmers, to enable them increase their yield, particularly due to the challenge posed by the Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic.
As part of the Bank’s financing framework, the CBN has facilitated the funding of maize farmers and processors through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) Commodity Association, Private/Prime Anchors, State Governments, Maize Aggregation Scheme (MAS), and the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).
Confirming the release of credit to its membersby the CBN, the National President of the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Dr. Bello Abubakar disclosed that over 200,000 farmers targeted to producee more than 25 million metric tonnes of maize in the 2020/2021 planting season.
According to him, the credit secured by the CBN are being distributed to members along the maize value chain, nation-wide. He expressed confidence that the support of the CBN would boost production and ultimately ensure availability as well as stability in the price of the commodity. In spite of cases of insecurity in some parts of the country, he said farmers were committed to meeting the objective of food security.
Abubakar also charged middlemen not to take advantage of the supply gap to hike the price of the grains, even as he assured that farmers would maintain reasonable price. He equally urged the Federal Government to put in place mechanism to protect farmers from market triggered shocks.
President Muhammadu Buhari has made it clear that the commitment of his government to the enthronement of democracy and good governance on the African continent is not negotiable.
Speaking at the Virtual Support Mission and Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Committee of Heads of State and Government participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APR Forum) and the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the on-going Second Peer Review Process, President Buhari said: “as you are aware, the Government of Nigeria has consistently supported the strengthening of democracy and good governance throughout the African continent, including under the umbrella of the African Peer Review Mechanism. We remain fully committed to promoting the good governance practice enshrined in the ideals and vision of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development which gave birth to this review mechanism.
“Nigeria will continue to support Africa’s renewal and rebirth evident in the collective commitment to this review in order to consolidate Africa’s path to healthy Democracy and sustainable growth.”
The President lauded the progress made so far in the “Africa Peer Review Mechanism as a self-monitoring tool to address governance deficit in Africa, as we conform to our shared values in the areas of democracy and political governance, economic governance, corporate governance and socio-economic development.”
The Nigerian leader recalled that Nigeria had the first Peer Review in 2008 and since then, had covered appreciable ground in the implementation of the National Programme of Action.
“Our Administration has continued to vigorously pursue Security, Economic Diversification and Anti-Corruption as the main thrust of national change agenda. The totality of this strategy is premised on the promotion of democracy, respect for the Rule of Law and Human Rights, gender equality and by far the largest investment in social change in Nigeria’s post-independence history.”
He expressed the readiness of his government to submit to the review exercise, saying: “Nigeria is keen to join the league of African Union Member States which will undergo the second peer review exercise.
“This is a firm demonstration of our belief in the dividends of democracy through this unique peer review system. We have learned valuable lessons and gained a wealth of experience in our journey to entrenching democracy and good governance in all manifestations since the restoration to democracy in 1999. We must stay the course and continue on this pathway to a peaceful, secure and more democratic Nigeria.”
The Chairperson of the APRM National Governing Council, Senator Abba Ali said that the benefits of the second review include among others; the invigoration and institutionalization of the APRM process in Nigeria and entrenchment of good governance, as well as appraisal of the extent of implementation of the National Programme of Action in the first review and its continued relevance to consolidate the gains of democracy.
In her welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, African Union Development Agency (AUDA) – NEPAD/APRM Nigeria, Princess Gloria Akobundu, said since the adoption of NEPAD in 2001, and the establishment of the APRM as a self-monitoring tool to consolidate the gains of good governance on the continent in 2003 by African Heads of State and Government, this review under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is the second for Nigeria.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu has frowned at report by some sections of the media that he is making moves to sell-off the Nigeria Police Officers’ Mess located at Onikan, Lagos, describing it as totally false.
A statement today, January 18, by the Force spokesman, Frank Mba (Commissioner of Police), quoted the IGP as cautioning media practitioners to beware of rumour-mongering and desist from activities aimed at disparaging and discrediting well-thought-out projects.
Explaining the circumstances around the officers’ mess in question, the statement said that it was conceived decades ago to cater for the welfare of Police Officers, provide transit accommodation for Officers on transfer or on special assignments and provide a conducive social environment suitable for their relaxation.
“Over time however, the property has degenerated and shown structural defects requiring a massive renovation or outright rebuilding.
“In a bid to restore its lost glory, provide a modern and befitting Officers’ Mess and tackle the defects of the old structure, the Police Management Team took a decision to upgrade the existing Officers’ Mess to a world-class edifice. “Upon completion, the project which is wholly owned by the Police and financed by the Police would improve the aesthetic value of the Onikan waterline, provide one of the best water view facilities on the Lagos Island and serve to improve social interaction between members of the Police Force and the general public.”
The statement said that the Force initially did not consider it unnecessary to respond “to the deliberate misinformation, falsehood and outright mischief by the authors of the publications, but the need to set the records straight and halt the intended damage to a well-thought-out project necessitated this response.”
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has reminded members of the Diplomatic Corps and other lawful foreign residents in Nigeria that it is mandatory for them to own National Identity Number (NIN).
He said that to this end, a National Identity Number enrolment centre will be opened at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs from tomorrow, January 19, so that members of the Diplomatic Corps can acquire theirs just like every Nigerian is expected to do.
A statement by Dr. Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant on Information Technology to Pantami, quoted the minister as saying that he and his foreign affairs counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama have concluded to simplify the process of acquiring NIN for diplomats and foreigners.
“The National Identity Number is mandatory for diplomats who will reside in Nigeria for a continuous period of two years or more.
“It is also mandatory for all other lawful residents in the country as stated in Section 16 of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2007.
“The desk will be set up by Tuesday, 19th of January, 2021.”
The statement said that the NIN registration is crucial for the creation of a good working condition for relevant stakeholders.
“This enrolment centre will provide support for members of the Diplomatic Corps and will be managed by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, through the National Identity Management Commission.
“The Law has made it mandatory for Nigerians and legal residents to obtain a NIN since 2007. However, compliance has been low, until recently.
“The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy remains committed to creating an enabling environment for all Nigerians and legal residents to obtain their Digital Identity Number.”
Operatives of the Elekahia Police Division on Sunday arrested a Police Sergeant, Ibrahim Odege, and one other person ‘involved’ in armed robbery at Elekahia Housing Estate.
A statement by the State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Nnmadi Omoni, said that the two suspects were robbing people and dispossessing them of their valuables when they were arrested.
He said that the timely arrival of the police led to the arrest of the two armed robbers whom he said were later identified as Sergeant Ibrahim Odege attached to the Operations Department of the Rivers Police Command and one Sampson Inomoghe from Nembe in Bayelsa State but resides at Rumuokwrushi in Obio/Akpor LGA.
He said that the duo were arrested at the scene of crime with three different handsets belonging to their victims and one locally made Bareta Pistol.
He said one of the victims, Mrs Doris Elechi, identified them as those that robbed her of her Tecno handset, which is one of the exhibits recovered.
He said the suspects confessed to have carried out robbery attacks, among other revelations.
Omoni said that the State Commissioner of Police, Joseph G. Mukan, condemned the act and ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects and exhibits to the State Criminal Investigation Department for Investigation.
He appealed to the public to increase their security consciousness and report any suspicious character and movement around them to the Police.
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World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has accused manufacturers of Coronavirus vaccines of placing too much emphasis on rich countries to the detriment of poorest ones.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced that it generated a total sum of N4,952,243,711,728.37 in tax revenue in the year 2020, representing about 98 percent of the national tax target of N5.076 trillion set for the FIRS by the Federal Government.
On November 2, 2016, a week before the US Presidential elections of Nov. 8, 2016, Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature told a group of students at Oxford University’s Eretgun House that if Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, he would leave the United States and cut his green card into pieces. The Green Card is a permanent residence permit that allows you to live and work in the United States. For more than 20 years, Professor Wole Soyinka had lived in the United States teaching in many universities including Harvard, and the New York University’s Institute of African American Affairs where he was a scholar-in-residence at the time of the 2016 Presidential election. “The moment they announce his victory, I will cut my green card myself and start packing up,” he announced. He called this, “Wolexit”, a pun on “Brexit”. Nobody has any evidence whether the Nobel Laureate actually wielded a pair of scissors and physically sheared his green card, but it was confirmed that he rendered it “inoperable.” Soyinka said he “felt disaster in my marrow”.
